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A  PAGE  FROM  THE  "RECORDS" 
Containing  the  Approval  of  the  Union  of  the  Church  in  America 


t 


H)ioce8e  ot  Connectfcut  ^-^aiiL^:; 


THE 

Records  of  Convocation 

A.D.   1790— A.  D.   1848 


EDITED    AND    ANNOTATED    FOR 

THE    DIOCESAN   COMMISSION    ON 
ARCHIVES 


The  reverend   JOSEPH  HOOPER,   M.A. 


NEW   HAVEN : 

Printed  for  the  CoNVENTioisr 

MCMIV 


THE    TUTTLE,   MOREHOUSE   &  TAYLOR    COMPANY, 
NEW   HAVEN,    CONN. 


PREFACE. 


With  the  printing  of  these  "Records"  the  documentary 
history  of  the  Diocese  is  made  more  complete.  Some  acts  of  the 
eariier  Conventions  seem  obscure  until  explained  by  the  discus- 
sions and  conclusions  of  the  Bishop  and  clergy  in  Convocation. 

While  the  "Records"  have  been  recognized  as  of  great 
historic  value  by  all  Connecticut  Churchmen,  and  especially  by 
those  who  have  carefully  studied  ''the  spotless  history,"  as 
Bishop  Williams  styled  it,  of  this  the  mother  diocese  of  the 
American  Church,  there  has  been  but  one  previous  proposal  to 
publish  them. 

This  was  in  1851,  when  the  lovable  and  erudite  Rev.  Dr. 
Alonzo  B.  Chapin,  editor  of  The  Calendar,  contemplated  issuing 
them  with  some  historical  notes  after  publishing  extracts  in  the 
columns  of  The  Calendar;  and  for  this  purpose  had  a  copy 
made  which  apparently  has  disappeared. 

The  historian  of  the  Church  in  Connecticut,  the  revered  and 
learned  Dr.  Eben  Edwards  Beardsley,  consulted  them  while 
preparing  his  "History"  and  incorporated  some  extracts  into 
his  text.  He  also  used  them  freely  in  his  "Life"  of  our  first 
Bishop,  Dr.  Samuel  Seabury. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  permanent  Commission  upon 
Parochial  Archives  held  on  April  10,  1899,  it  was  resolved  that 
the  Convention  "have  the  existing  Records  of  the  Convocations 
of  the  clergy  carefully  printed  with  notes  for  preservation." 

No  measures  were  then  taken  to  bring  the  subject  before  the 
Convention. 

The  consideration  of  the  "Records"  was  resumed  at  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  Commission  on  May  13,  1902.  The 
former  resolution  was  unanimously  reaffirmed  and  a  member 
of  the  Commission  appointed  to  present  it  to  the  Convention. 

At  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese  held  in  Trinity  Church, 
Hartford,  on  June  10,  1902,  the  present  publication  was  unani- 
mously authorized. 


— 4— 

The  Commission  subsequently  appointed  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel 
Hart,  Registrar  of  the  Diocese,  and  the  Rev.  Joseph  Hooper, 
a  committee  to  superintend  its  annotation  and  publication. 

The  desire  of  the  Committee  to  verify  every  detail  of  both 
the  text  and  the  notes  has  made  an  earlier  publication  imprac- 
ticable. 

The  Committee  has  in  all  matters  connected  with  the  pub- 
lication acted  as  a  unit. 

Dr.  Hart  kindly  undertook  the  comparison  of  the  transcript 
with  the  original  and  read  the  proof  of  the  text  also  with  the 
original.  Mr.  Hooper  is  responsible  for  the  "Introduction," 
which  is  intended  to  give  such  information  as  is  available  con- 
cerning the  "Voluntary  Conventions"  and  earlier  Convocations 
in  Connecticut.  He  has  also  compiled  such  "Notes"  as  seemed 
necessary.  He  gratefully  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  his 
colleague's  profound  knowledge  of  our  history. 

The  "Records"  are  printed  exactly  as  found  in  the  original 
minute  books  with  these  exceptions :  the  years  are  inserted  in 
bold-faced  type  and  a  few  emendations  necessary  to  complete 
the  sense  have  been  made.     They  are  enclosed  in  square  brackets. 

J.  H. 

June,  1904. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 


It  was  the  custom  of  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
the  Colony  of  Connecticut  to  meet  from  time  to  time  in  "volun- 
tary convention." 

At  these  meetings  matters  of  common  interest  were  discussed, 
and  often  protests  were  made  and  measures  taken  to  maintain 
the  rights  of  oppressed  Churchmen  in  some  of  the  towns. 

Although  a  yearly  gathering  of  the  clergy  in  each  colony  or 
province,  or  if  there  were  very  few  in  any  colony  the  clergy 
of  two  or  more  colonies,  was  favored  by  the  venerable  Propa- 
gation Society,  the  Conventions  were  held  at  irregular  intervals 
until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Each  meeting  in 
New  England  generally,  and  in  Connecticut  especially,  had  the 
warrant  of  some  special  need  of  their  various  cures  or  the  pres- 
ence of  some  danger  or  menace  to  the  Church  of  which  they 
were  ministers. 

The  same  irregularity  is  noticed  in  the  Conventions  in  the 
other  North  Arherican  colonies  and  provinces  until  after  1750. 
At  that  time  the  agitation  for  an  American  Episcopate  became 
more  active,  and  appeals  and  plans  for  its  successful  accom- 
plishment were  frequently  sent  to  the  venerable  Society,  "his 
Grace  of  Canterbury"  or  "my  Lord  of  London." 

An  organized  opposition  to  this  design,  and  the  union  against 
it  of  all  those  dissenting  from  the  Church  of  England,  caused 
the  clergy  of  the  more  northern  colonies  to  meet  more  frequently 
until  the  Revolution. 

We  know  certainly  from  letters  of  missionaries,  notices  in 
the  newspapers,  and  the  formal  documents  sent  "home"  to  the 
venerable  Society  or  the  Bishop  of  London,  that  seventeen  Con- 
ventions were  held  in  Connecticut  from  1739  to  1776, 

Probably  there  were  other  meetings  more  purely  social  in  their 
character  of  which  no  record  was  made. 

The  first  recorded  Convention  is  that  held  at  "Fairfield  in  New 
England"  on  March  20,  1739.  It  was  attended  by  seven  clergy- 
men, the  six  then  laboring  in  Connecticut  and  the  Rector  of 
Christ  Church,  Rye,  New  York,  who  ministered  to  the  Connecti- 


cut  Churchmen  on  the  border  of  New  York  at  Horse  Neck  (now 
Greenwich),  and  Stamford.^  From  the  "representation"  sent 
to  the  venerable  Society  the  meeting  was  occasioned  by  the 
aggressions  of  the  "Standing  Order"  upon  Churchmen.  Taxes 
for  the  support  of  the  ministry  were  levied  in  every  town.  These 
taxes  were  to  be  the  provision  for  the  salary  of  the  ministers 
of  the  "Standing  Order,"  that  is,  those  who  subscribed  and 
conformed  to  the  Saybrook  Platform  of  1708.  All  "sober  dis- 
senters," including  Churchmen,  who  were  certified  to  belong  to 
other  religious  bodies  could  have  their  ministerial  taxes  paid  to 
their  respective  pastors.  In  practice  very  few  towns  were 
willing  to  divert  any  portion  of  their  tax  from  the  local  pastor 
without  a  formal  suit  and  mandamus.  The  particular  case  of 
aggression  in  1739  was  that  of  the  Churchmen  in  Horse  Neck 
and  Stamford,  where  the  collectors  refused  to  pay  their  pro- 
portion of  the  tax  to  Mr,  Wetmore.  This  treatment  of  a  just 
claim  demanded  redress. 

The  Convention  also  mentioned  the  indignity  offered  to  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Arnold  of  West  Haven  and  his  servants,  who  were 
forcibly  ejected  by  a  mob  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  people 
from  the  "Gregson  Glebe"  in  New  Haven,  of  which  he  was 
taking  possession  by  ploughing. 

This  plot  had  been  deeded  to  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Arnold 
by  Mr.  William  Gregson  of  London  in  trust  for  the  Church 
of  England  in  New  Haven.  The  actual  title  was  obscure  and 
disputed.^ 

'  The  Rev.  Samuel  Johnson,  of  Stratford  ; 

John  Beach,  of  Newtown  ; 

Samuel  Seabury,  of  New  London  ; 

Jonathan  Arnold,  of  West  Haven  ; 

Ebenezer  Punderson,  of  North  Groton  ; 

Henry  Caner,  of  Fairfield  ; 

James  Wetmore,  of  Rye,  New  York. 
'  The  "  Representation  "  is  on  pp.  166-169  of  Documentary  History  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America.  I.  Con- 
necticut. Francis  L.  Hawks,  D.D.,LL.D.,  William  Stevens  Perry,  A.M., 
Editors.  Vol.  I.  New  York,  James  Pott,  1863.  Usually  quoted  as  "  Con- 
necticut Church  Documents^  For  the  "Gregson  Glebe,"  see  pp.  114, 
115,  168,  170,  171,  224,  227  of  The  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Con- 
necticut, from  the  Settlement  of  the  Colony  to  the  death  of  Bishop  Seabury.  By 
E.  E.  Beardsley,  D.D.  Vol.  I.  Third  edition.  New  York,  Hard  and 
Houghton,  1874.  Also  pp.  19,  20,  22,  The  Beginning  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  New  Haven.     By  Edwin  Harwood,  D.D.     1894. 


— 7— 

The  second  Convention  was  held  at  New  London  on  May  4, 
1740.  It  was  attended  by  representatives  of  the  clergy  through- 
out New  England,  An  extract  from  its  proceedings  relating  to 
the  establishment  of  a  parish  at  "Hopkinston,"  probably  the 
town  in  Massachusetts,  is  the  only  item  concerning  its  delibera- 
tions available.^  At  Hopkinston,  Mass.,  the  Rev,  Commissary 
Price  of  King's  Chapel,  Boston,  afterward  built  and  endowed 
with  a  glebe  a  commodious  church.^ 

On  August  24,  1742,  the  clergy  of  Connecticut  met  at  Fair- 
field. Their  special  object  was  to  ask  the  Bishop  of  London 
to  appoint  a  Commissary  for  Connecticut.  The  Rector  of 
Stratford,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Johnson,  was  nominated  to  Dr. 
Edmund  Gibson,  their  diocesan,  as  the  most  suitable  person. 
The  chief  reason  for  such  an  appointment  was :  "our  distances 
from  the  Commissary  at  Boston  is  such  as  makes  it  impracticable 
for  us  to  attend  upon  the  yearly  Convention,  and,  consequently 
to  receive  the  benefits  of  that  appointment."^ 

The  research  of  Mr.  George  E.  Hoadley  has  enriched  the 
archives  of  the  Diocese  with  these  particulars  of  several  Con- 
ventions from  the  files  of  The  Connecticut  Courant.  As  the 
files  are  not  complete  it  is  probable  that  other  sessions  were 
mentioned  in  the  Courant. 


[Courant,  Monday,  June  10,  1765.] 

Hebron,  June  6th,  1765. 

Yesterday  being  the  Wednesday  after  Trinity  Sunday,  there 
was  in  this  town  a  convention  of  the  Clergy  of  the  Church 
of  England,  belonging  to  Conn.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Leaming  of 
Norwalk  preached  an  ingenious  and  pathetic  Sermon  on  ist  Cor, 
IV  I  to  great  satisfaction.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Hubbard  of  Guilford 
read  prayers  with  much  approbation.  The  Convention  for  the 
year  1766  is  appointed  to  be  held  at  New  Milford,  when  the 
Rev'd  Mr.  Mansfield  of  Derby  is  nominated  to  preach. 

'  p.  170,  Connecticut  Church  Documents ,  I. 

*  p.  11),  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  V.  Wm.  B.  Sprague,  D.D.  New 
York,  Robert  Carter  and  Brother,  1861. 

'pp.  181,  182,  Connecticut  Church  Docujnents,  I.  pp.  135,  136,  Dr. 
Beardsley's  "History,"  I. 


[Courant,  June  2,  1766.] 

Wallingford,  May  29,  1766. 

Yesterday  in  this  town  was  a  meeting  of  the  Clergy  of  Conn, 
when  a  very  rational  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Mansfield  of  Darby.  Prayers  were  read  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Learning  of  Norwalk. 

[Courant,  June  29,  1767.] 

Turkey  Hills  in  Simsbury,  June  18,  1767. 

Yesterday  was  held  in  this  place  the  annual  Convention  of  the 
Church  Clergy  in  Connecticut,  before  whom  a  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Newton  of  Ripton  in  Stratford. 
Prayers  were  read  by  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Jarvis  of  Middletown. 

[Courant,  June  5,  1769.] 

On  Wednesday  the  24th  last,  was  a  full  convention  of  the 
Church  Clergy  at  New  Milford,  at  which  two  sermons  were 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Mess.  Scovil  and  Kneeland  respectively. 

[Courant,  Tuesday,  May  28,  1771.] 

On  Wednesday  last  there  was  a  Convention  of  the  Church 
Clergy  of  this  Colony  at  Norwich.  The  Service  of  the  Church 
was  read  by  Mr.  Bostwick  of  Great  Barrington,  and  a  Sermon 
preached  by  Mr.  Andrews  of  Wallingford. 

[Courant,  Tuesday,  June  30,  1772.] 

Wednesday  of  last  week  was  the  annual  Convention  of  the 
Church  of  England  Clergy,  when  more  than  twenty  Gentlemen 
of  that  Character  met  at  Fairfield,  to  whom  a  Sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Viets  of  Simsbury. 

An  interesting  Convention  was  held  on  July  23,  1776,  at  the 
house  of  the  Rev.  Bela  Hubbard  in  New  Haven.  The  Church 
of  England  clergy  in  the  colony  were  firm  loyalists  with  scarcely 
an  exception.  When  arms  were  taken  up  against  the  King  their 
consciences  would  not  allow  them  at  the  bidding  of  the  patriots 
to  omit  the  prayers  for  the  King  and  Royal  Family  in  public 
worship.  Threats  and  imprisonment  did  not  frighten  them  or 
cause  them  to  decline  "mutilating"  the  Prayer  Book.  They 
could  not  break  their  oath  of  allegiance  taken  at  their  solemn 


ordination,  they  were  reluctant  to  close  their  churches  provided 
they  could  keep  them  open  with  comparative  safety  to  them- 
selves and  their  parishioners.  After  much  deliberation  they 
devised  a  form  of  service  which  dispensed  with  the  use  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  which  the  Convention  authorized 
for  use.  "It  was  voted,  that  the  following  mode  of  public  wor- 
ship should  be  carried  out  in  their  respective  churches,  i^*^ 
singing,  2^^  a  chapter  out  of  the  Old  Testament.  3'''^^  Psalms 
of  the  Day  out  of  the  Old  Testament.  4*^"^  some  commentary. 
5*"y  a  Psalm.  6*"^  a  Sermon.  And  lastly,  Part  of  the  6*^ 
Chap'r  of  St  Math'w,  ending  with  the  Lord's  Prayer,  all  kneel- 
ing. The  Blessing."^  It  was  not  practicable  in  every  place 
to  maintain  the  accustomed  services.  Mr.  Hubbard  at  New 
Haven,  Mr.  Jarvis  at  Middletown,  Mr.  Tyler  at  Norwich,  John 
Beach  at  Newtown  and  Redding  Ridge,  Richard  Mansfield  at 
Derby  and  Gideon  Bostwick  in  his  extensive  mission  at  Great 
Barrington  and  the  surrounding  country  in  Massachusetts,  New 
York  and  Vermont,  appear  to  be  those  who  were  able  without 
serious  disturbance  to  go  about  their  clerical  work  and  keep  open 
their  churches  during  the  Revolution. 

In  the  closing  days  of  the  war,  the  clergy  that  remained  in 
Connecticut  gathered  at  Middletown  and  were  welcomed  by  the 
hospitable  rector,  the  Rev.  Abraham  Jarvis.  In  old  Christ 
Church,  near  the  present  South  Green,  they  met  in  Convention 
on  May  29,  1782.  Our  only  knowledge  of  this  session  is  from 
the  manuscript  of  the  sermon  preached  before  it  by  the  Rev. 
Gideon  Bostwick  of  Great  Barrington,  Mass.- 

As  even  then  it  was  known  that  the  United  States  would  be 
acknowledged  as  an  independent  power  by  Great  Britain,  it  is 
possible  that  these  stanch  adherents  of  the  Episcopal  form  of 
Church  government  discussed  at  this  session  the  measures  neces- 
sary to  introduce  into  the  independent  State  of  Connecticut  "a 
pure,  valid  and  free  Episcopacy."      While  contemporary  docu- 

'  Ms.  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Slafter,  Registrar  of  the  Diocese  of  Massa- 
chusetts, extracted  from  the  papers  of  the  Rev.  Wm.  Clarke,  Rector  of  St. 
Paul's  Church,  Dedham,  Mass.  ;  in  the  Archives  of  the  Diocese  of  Con- 
necticut. 

''This  is  in  possession  of  the  writer.  It  is  in  a  volume  of  manuscript 
sermons  collected  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Daniel  Burhans.  The  text  is  :  "Take 
heed  unto  thj'^  self  and  thy  doctrine.  Continue  in  them,  for  in  doing  this 
thou  shalt  both  save  thy  self  and  them  that  hear  thee."    i  S.  Timothy,  iv,  16. 


ments  concerning  the  preliminaries  to  the  momentous  Conven- 
tion held  at  the  Glebe  House  in  Woodbury  on  the  feast  of  the 
Annunciation,  1783,  are  very  few,  it  is  certain  that  the  plan  of 
completing  the  organization  of  the  Church  by  the  election  and 
consecration  of  a  Bishop  was  known  and  discussed  by  the 
clerg>'  and  leading  laymen  long  before  ten  out  of  the  fourteen 
clergymen  then  connected  with  Connecticut  journeyed  over  the 
bad  roads  of  springtime  to  that  town  among  the  Litchfield  hills 
where  the  courtly  John  Rutgers  Marshall  was  rector,  and  there 
made  choice  of  our  first  Bishop. 

The  letters  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Fogg  of  Pomfret,  written  in 
the  summer  of  1783  to  his  friend,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Parker  of 
Trinity  Church,  Boston,  and  the  official  documents  prepared  by 
the  ready  pen  of  the  Rev.  Abraham  Jarvis,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Convention,  are  all  that  give  us  any  information  in  writing  of 
the  proceedings.  Tradition  is  also  quite  silent  and  we  know 
the  Convention  at  Woodbury  only  by  its  important  conse- 
quences.^ 

When  Dr.  Seabury  soon  after  his  arrival  in  England  applied 
to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  Archbishop  of  York 
for  consecration  he  was  met  by  three  objections:  that  they  had 
no  right  to  send  a  Bishop  into  Connecticut  without  the  consent 
of  the  State;  that  the  Bishop  would  not  be  received  in  Con- 
necticut ;  that  no  provision  had  been  made  for  the  support  of  a 
Bishop.  The  Bishop-elect  communicated  these  objections  to 
the  Clergy  of  Connecticut  in  a  letter  dated  August  10,  1783, 
and  more  fully  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leaming  on  September  3,  1783. 

Acting  upon  his  suggestion,  the  clergy  were  summoned  to 
meet  at  Wallingford  to  consider  the  best  method  of  meeting 
these  objections.  The  date  of  the  Convention  is  given  by  Dr. 
Beardsley  as  January  13,  1784.     The  Rev.  Mr.  Leaming,  the 

^The  best  accounts  of  the  Woodbury  Convention  will  be  found  in  these 
authorities:  The  Seabury  Centenary,  \%%-i-\%Zl.  Edited  by  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Hart.  New  York,  James  Pott  &  Co.,  1885.  pp.  3-10,  The  Service  at 
Woodbury,  March  27,  1883.  pp.  11-29,  Men  for  the  Times.  Bp.  Williams' 
Convention  Sermon,  June  12,  1883.  The  Election  of  Bishop  Seabury.  A 
sermon  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hart,  preached  in  Christ  Church,  Hartford, 
April  I,  1883.  The  Election  in  order  to  Consecration  of  the  first  Bishop  of 
Connecticut.  A  Discourse  delivered  in  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation, 
New  York  City,  Annunciation  Day,  1S83,  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  Wm.  Jones 
Seabury,  D.D.  See  also  Note,  p.  26,  Bishop  Seabury  and  Connecticut 
Churchtnanship.     Dr.  Hart's  Convention  sermon,  June  9,  1896. 


— II- 


Rev.  Mr.  Hubbard  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jarvis  were  chosen  a  com- 
mittee "to  collect  the  opinions  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
Assembly  concerning  an  application  by  the  clergy  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  Connecticut  for  the  legal  protection  of  a 
Bishop  for  said  Church  when  they  shall  be  able  to  procure  one 
agreeable  to  the  Common  rights  of  Christians,  as  those  rights 
are  now  claimed  and  understood  by  all  denominations  of 
Christians  in  the  State."  The  result  of  their  inquiry  was 
transmitted  to  Dr.  Seabury  in  a  letter  from  Middletown,  dated 
February  5,  1784.^ 

At  length  the  good  deed  of  the  Catholic  remainder  of  the 
Church  in  Scotland  was  known  in  this  country  and  gratefully 
acknowledged  by  all  true  Churchmen. 

Bishop  Seabury  was  as  anxious  to  meet  the  clergy  as  they 
were  to  greet  their  Bishop. 

On  June  29,  1785,  two  days  after  Bishop  Seabury's  arrival  at 
New  London,  which  was  to  be  his  future  home,  he  wrote  to  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Jarvis  of  Middletown,  concerning  "the  time  and  place 
of  the  clergy's  meeting."  It  was  finally  arranged  to  be  in  Mid- 
dletown early  in  August. 

In  that  pleasant  city,  in  the  quaint  building  known  as  Christ 
Church,  the  clergy  met  in  Convention  on  Tuesday,  August  2, 
1785,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Leaming  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Jarvis  as  Secretary.  Eleven  were  in  attendance.  The  Con- 
vention also  welcomed  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Moore  of  Trinity 
Church,  New  York  City,  who  came  to  salute  his  old  friend  the 
Bishop  of  Connecticut,  and  to  note  the  manner  in  which  the 
Bishop  and  clergy  dealt  with  the  problem  of  changes  in  the 
Prayer  Book  to  conform  to  American  independence.  He  had 
no  representative  character  since  many  in  New  York  and  to 
"the  southward"  thought  with  Dr.  Samuel  Provoost,  Rector  of 
Trinity  Church,  New  York  City,  that  Dr.  Seabury's  consecration 
was  illegal  and  schismatical. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Parker,  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  Boston, 
came  at  the  request  of  his  brethren  of  the  clergy  to  convey  to  the 

^Dr.  Beardsley's  ''Life  of  Bishop  Seabury"  gives  Dr.  Seabury's  letters 
and  an  account  of  the  Convention.  He  does  not  mention  any  authority  for 
the  transactions  of  the  Convention;  see  pp.  108,  109,  no,  112.  An  undated 
draught  of  the  reply  of  the  Committee  will  be  found  on  pp.  158-160  of 
The  Churchman  s  Magazine,  volume  III,  No.  4,  April,  1806. 


12 — 

Bishop  the  respectful  congratulations  of  the  clergy  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Rhode  Island,  and  to  observe  carefully  the  pro- 
ceedings for  the  use  of  his  brethren  when  a  Convention  should 
be  summoned  to  meet  in  Boston. 

On  the  following  day  the  Bishop  was  formally  received, 
greeted  and  accepted  as  their  Bishop,  by  the  clergy;  and  the 
first  four  deacons  of  the  American  Church  were  ordained.  On 
Thursday,  the  first  Episcopal  charge  was  delivered.^ 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  ordination  service  ''the  Bishop  dis- 
solved the  Convention  and  directed  the  clergy  to  meet  him  at 
five  o'clock  in  Convocation."^ 

This  is  the  first  time  the  term  is  applied  to  a  meeting  of  the 
clergy  in  Connecticut.  The  learned  Dr.  Jarvis,  a  son  of  the 
second  Bishop,  says :  "What  had  before  been  only  a  voluntary 
Convention  was  now  resolved  into  a  Convocation  ;  a  term  which 
implies  being  convoked  by  Episcopal  authority."^ 

In  England  the  term  is  used  to  indicate  "an  assembly  of  the 
spirituality  of  the  realm  of  England  which  is  summoned  by  the 
Metropolitan  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  of  York  respec- 
tively within  their  ecclesiastical  provinces,  pursuant  to  a  royal 
writ,  whenever  the  Parliament  of  the  realm  is  summoned,  and 
which  is  also  continued  or  discharged  as  the  case  may  be  when- 
ever the  Parliament  is  prorogued  or  dissolved."* 

'  See  The  Address  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Connecticut  to  the  Right 
Reverend  Bishop  Seabtiry,  with  the  Bishop's  Answer  and  a  Sermon  before 
the  Convention  at  Middletown,  August  3,  1785,  by  the  Rev.  Jeremiah 
Leaming,  A.M.,  Rector  of  Christ's  Church,  Stratford.  Also,  Bishop  Sea- 
bury's  first  Charge  to  the  Clergy  of  his  Diocese,  delivered  at  Middletown, 
August  4,  1785.  New  Haven,  printed  by  Thomas  and  Samuel  Green. 
Also,  Seabury  Centenary,  pp.  113-142,  Services  at  Middletown,  Connecti- 
cut, August  3,  1885. 

'^  pp.  213,  214,  Life  attd  Correspondence  of  the  Right  Reverend  Samtiel 
Seabury,  D.D.,  by  E.  E.  Beardsley,  D.D.  Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin  & 
Co.,  1881.  This  sentence  is  quoted  from  a  "  Life  of  Bishop  Jarvis,"  in  The 
Evergreen  HI,  pp.  98  et  seq.,  written  by  his  son  the  Rev.  Samuel  Farmar 
Jarvis,  D.D.,  and  evidently  from  the  minutes  of  the  Convention.  These 
minutes  seem  to  have  entirely  disappeared. 

^  p.  24,  A  Voice  from  Cotmecticut ;  occasioned  by  the  late  Pastoral  Letter 
of  the  Bishop  of  North  Carolina  to  the  Clergy  and  Lait)'^  of  his  Diocese.  By 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Farmar  Jarvis,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  with  the  approbation  of  the 
Bishop  of  Connecticut.     Hartford,  A.  C.  Goodman  &  Co.,  MDCCCXLIX. 

*  p.  325,  The  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  VL  ninth  edition,  1878. 
From  the  article  on  "Convocation,"  by  Sir  Travers  Twiss,  Q.C 


—13— 

It  is  divided  into  two  Houses.  In  the  Upper  House  the  Bish- 
ops of  the  province  sit  under  the  presidency  of  the  Archbishop. 
In  the  Lower  House  the  Deans  of  the  Cathedrals,  proctors  for 
the  Cathedral  chapters  and  proctors  for  the  Clergy  sit  under  the 
presidency  of  a  prolocutor  chosen  from  among  the  clergy  and 
approved  by  the  Archbishop. 

Anciently  Convocation  had  in  all  spiritual  matters  the  same 
power  as  the  Parliament  in  civil  matters.  In  1717  its  legislative 
and  consultative  functions  were  suppressed  and  it  met  only  pro 
forma  until  1853,  when  its  consultative  function  was  resumed, 
and  in  1861  its  deliberative  function  was  again  exercised  and 
has  continued  to  be  since. 

The  exact  powers  that  Bishop  Seabury  intended  the  Convo- 
cation of  Connecticut  to  exercise  must  be  ascertained  from  the 
scanty  material  available  concerning  the  early  meetings  and 
its  course  when  most  active  from  1790  to  1820. 

From  a  survey  of  its  work  we  can  formulate  this  definition 
of  the  term  as  applied  to  the  assembly  of  the  clergy  of  Con- 
necticut :  The  Convocation  is  the  body  of  the  clergy  of  a  Diocese 
called  together  by  its  Bishop  to  consult  upon  the  spiritual  inter- 
ests of  the  Diocese,  to  determine  and  act  upon  all  matters  con- 
cerning the  welfare  and  edification  of  the  Diocese,  and  to  advise 
the  Bishop  in  regard  to  such  cases  of  discipline  as  he  may  see 
fit  to  lay  before  it.  After  the  organization  of  the  Convention  of 
clergy  and  lay  delegates  in  1792,  the  Convocation  ceased  to 
consider  and  act  upon  affairs  concerning  the  temporal  interests 
of  the  Diocese,  while  it  still  occasionally,  if  requested,  advised 

upon  them. 

When  the  Convocation  of  Connecticut  held  its  primary  session 
on  Wednesday,  August  3,  1785,  it  gave  honorary  seats,  as  the 
Convention  had  done,  to  Mr.  Moore  and  Mr.  Parker.  With  the 
Bishop  in  the  chair,  it  applied  itself  to  the  consideration  of  the 
changes  necessary  in  the  English  Prayer  Book. 

Whether  any  formal  scheme  of  alterations  was  presented  by 
any  member  is  not  known.  The  subject  had  been  widely  dis- 
cussed ;  much  had  been  said  about  the  grand  opportunity^  to 
make  a  new  Book  free  from  superstition,  free  from  ambiguity, 
and  attractive  to  those  who  were  beginning  to  be  doubtful  of  our 
Blessed  Lord's  divinity.     Neither  the  clergy  nor  the  laity  of 


—14— 

Connecticut  sympathized  with  such  views.  They  knew  the 
Prayer  Book  and  its  teaching  and  were  unwilling  to  do  more 
than  revise  the  State  Prayers,  strike  out  all  allusions  to  the  King 
and  Royal  Family,  and  possibly  substitute  modern  for  some 
archaic  expressions. 

On  Thursday,  August  4th,  a  service  was  held  at  eleven  o'clock. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Parker  read  prayers  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Moore 
preached  a  sermon.  After  this  the  Bishop  delivered  his  primary 
charge  to  the  clergy. 

The  Convocation  resumed  its  session  and  continued  its  delib- 
erations until  Friday,  when  it  adjourned  to  meet  at  New  Haven 
in  September,  "after  appointing  Mr.  Bowden,  Mr.  Parker  and 
Mr.  Jarvis  as  a  committee  to  consider  of,  and  make  with  the 
Bishop,  some  alterations  in  the  Liturgy  needful  for  the  present 
use  of  the  Church." 

The  committee  continued  to  sit  for  two  days  in  Middletown 
to  perfect  the  changes  then  deemed  most  important. 

They  were  announced  to  the  Diocese  by  the  Bishop  in  a  pas- 
toral letter  dated  New  London,  August  12,  1785,  in  which  he 
enjoined  the  clergy  "to  make  the  following  alterations  in  the 
Liturgy  and  offices  of  our  Church."  He  comprised  them  under 
eight  heads.  All  the  changes  were  in  connection  with  the  State 
prayers  and  mention  of  the  King,  Royal  Family  and  British 
government.^ 

The  other  alterations  proposed  at  Middletown  and  approved 
by  the  committee  it  was  thought  best  to  leave  for  consideration 
at  New  Haven. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Parker  had  returned  home  and  at  the 
Convention  held  in  Boston  on  September  7  and  8,  which  was 
attended  by  clergymen  and  lay  deputies  from  Massachusetts, 
New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island,  made  his  report  of  the  pro- 
ceedings at  Middletown  and  laid  before  the  Convention  the 
alterations  which  the  committee  had  adopted.  From  the 
minutes  of  this  Convention  we  learn  that  in  addition  to  the  State 
prayers  it  was  proposed  to  abolish  the  services  for  November 
5,  January  30,  May  29,  and  October  25 ;  a  phrase  in  the  Te  Deum 

'  A  copy  of  the  original  broadside  is  in  the  Archives  of  the  Diocese.  It  is 
printed  on  pp.  29,  30,  Bishop  Seabury's  Communion  Office.  Reprinted  in 
facsimile,  with  an  Historical  Sketch  and  Notes,  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hart, 
M.A.     New  York,  T.  Whittaker,  1883. 


—15— 

was  to  be  altered ;  the  words  "He  descended  into  Hell"  to  be 
omitted  in  the  Apostles'  Creed ;  the  Creed  of  St.  Athanasius  to 
be  omitted ;  the  use  of  the  Nicene  Creed  left  optional ;  the  minor 
Litany  to  be  disused ;  the  Lord's  Prayer  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Communion  Office  to  be  omitted,  there  were  also  several 
slight  alterations  proposed  in  other  portions  of  that  office. 

In  the  rubrics  in  the  office  for  Infant  Baptism  a  change  was 
proposed  by  which  parents  were  to  be  admitted  as  sponsors 
for  their  children,  the  sign  of  the  Cross  might  be  omitted,  and 
several  changes  were  suggested  in  phraseology ;  the  Committal 
in  the  Burial  of  the  Dead  was  to  be  modified;  the  office  for 
the  Churching  of  Women,  with  the  exception  of  the  Introduc- 
tion and  Collect,  to  be  disused ;  the  Absolution  in  the  office  of 
the  Visitation  of  the  Sick  expunged. 

The  changes  suggested  in  the  Marriage  Service  were  in  the 
Address,  the  troth  pledge,  and  the  ceremony  of  the  ring. 

The  use  of  the  Collect  for  the  Day  more  than  once  in  the 
Morning  Service  was  to  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  minister.^ 

The  proper  place  for  the  reading  of  the  "Ante-Communion," 
whether  "in  the  reading  desk  or  in  the  altar,"  was  also  to  be 
discretionary  with  the  minister. 

Slight  as  many  of  the  proposed  alterations  were,  it  is  evident 
that  the  Boston  Convention  did  not  merely  register  and  approve 
the  conclusions  of  the  Committee  of  the  Connecticut  Con- 
vocation. 

Many  laymen  in  Massachusetts  were  desirous  that  the  Prayer 
Book  should  be  so  revised  as  to  make  it  acceptable  to  the  great 
body  of  Evangelical  Christians.^  Laymen^  were  in  the  majority 
in  the  Boston  Convention  and  their  views  prevailed. 

It  is  known  the  review  of  the  Prayer  Book  undertaken  by 
Bishop  Seabury  and  his  clergy  at  Middletown  was  entered  upon 

'  The  English  Prayer  Book  still  enjoins  its  use  as  the  first  of  the  three 
Collects  in  Morning  Prayer. 

^  See  the  "Instructions"  given  by  Messrs.  John  Tracy  and  Dudley 
Atkins,  Wardens  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Newburyport,  to  the  Hon.  Tristram 
Dalton,  lay  deputy  from  that  parish  to  the  Boston  Convention,  on  pp.  243- 
248  of  Life  and  Times  of  Edward  Bass,  First  Bishop  of  Massachusetts, 
by  Daniel  Dulany  Addison.  Boston  and  New  York  :  Houghton,  Mifflin  & 
Company,  1897. 


— 16— 

at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Parker.^  In  announcing  to  Bishop 
Seabury  the  action  of  the  Boston  Convention  and  forwarding  a 
copy  of  the  alterations,  he  says :  "You  will  see  upon  perusal  of 
them  that  those  proposed  at  Middletown  are  mostly  adopted  and 
some  few  others  proposed.  The  only  material  ones  that  we  have 
not  agreed  to  are  omitting  the  second  Lesson  in  the  Morning 
Service  and  the  Gospel  and  Exhortation  in  the  Baptismal  Office. 
The  additional  alterations  in  some  of  the  offices  are  such  as 
were  mentioned  at  Middletown  but  which  we  had  not  time  to 
enter  upon  then."-  Before  the  time  for  the  meeting  of  the  Con- 
vocation at  New  Haven  there  had  been  many  expressions  of 
opinion  by  the  Churchmen  of  Connecticut  opposing  any  other 
change  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  than  that  made  necessary 
by  the  transfer  of  civil  authority. 

The  Convocation  met  in  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  on 
Wednesday,  September  14,  1785,  under  the  presidency  of  Bishop 
Seabury  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jarvis  as  secretary.  The  report  of 
the  Committee  upon  alterations  was  presented  and  action 
deferred.  "The  Church  people  in  Connecticut  were  much 
alarmed  at  the  thought  of  any  considerable  alterations  being 
made  in  the  Prayer  Book ;  and,  upon  the  whole,  it  was  judged 
best  that  no  alterations  should  be  attempted  at  present,  but  to 
wait  till  a  little  time  shall  have  cooled  down  the  temper  and  con- 
ciliated the  afifections  of  people  to  each  other."' 

The  Convocation  duly  considered  the  affectionate  and  frater- 
nal letter  of  the  consecrators  of  Dr.  Seabury  "To  the  Episcopal 
Clergy  in  Connecticut  in  North  America."*  The  secretary  was 
requested  to  answer  it  in  behalf  of  his  brethren,  expressing  the 
gratitude  they  felt  toward  the  Church  in  Scotland  and  the  desire 
they  had  always  to  maintain  a  friendly  and  brotherly  intercourse 

^  "  It  was  at  my  Request  that  the  Bishop  with  his  Clergy  agreed  to  make 
some  alterations  in  the  Liturgy  and  Offices  of  the  Church  and  a  Com'tee 
from  the  body  of  the  Clergy  was  Chosen  to  attend  him  for  that  purpose." — 
The  Rev.  Samuel  Parker  to  the  Rev.  William  White.  Boston,  Septem^ 
14,  1785.  p.  90,  Bp.  Perry's  Histoi-ical  Notes  and  Docuinents,  being  volume 
XYiree  oi  Journal  of  General  Convejition,  1785-1835.  Also:  p.  286,  Connec- 
ticut Church  Doctiments,  II. 

^  pp.  284,  285,  Connecticut  Church  Documents,  II.  The  Rev.  Samuel 
Parker  to  the  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury.     "  Boston,  September  12,  1785." 

^  Bishop  Seabury  to  the  Rev.  Samuel  Parker.  "  Wallingford,  Nov.  28, 
1785."     p.  287,  Connecticut  Church  Documents,  II. 

^  The  original  engrossed  on  vellum  is  in  the  Archives  of  the  Diocese. 
The  text  is  given  on  pp.  153-156,  Dr.  Beardsley's  "  Bishop  Seabury." 


—17— 

with  it.  Mr.  Jarvis  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Scottish  Bishops  in 
the  poHshed  English  of  which  he  was  master  which  was  grace- 
ful, grateful,  and  courteous.  It  is  dated  at  "New  Haven  in  Con- 
necticut, September  i6,  1785,"  and  signed  "Abraham  Jarvis, 
secretary  to  the  Convocation  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  in  Con- 
necticut."^ 

During  the  session  of  the  Convocation  three  candidates  from 
other  states  were  made  deacons^  and  three  deacons  ordained 
priests^  in  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven  on  Friday,  Septem- 
ber 16. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Ezra  Stiles,  President  of  Yale  College,  in  his 
"Literary  Diary"  alludes  to  the  Convocation  under  date  of 
September  15,  1785.  "Four  important  Transactions  in  this  City 
this  Week :  the  Commencement,  a  meeting  of  the  Consociation 
of  the  C°  of  New  Haven  in  order  to  divide  themselves  into  two 
Consociations,  the  Ordin^  of  Mr.  Holmes — &  lastly  a  meet^  of 
the  few  Episc°  Clergy  with  Dr.  Seabury  their  Bp.  for  Ordin*  of 
Deacons  and  Presbyters  accord"  to  the  Chh  of  Engl*^.  The  Con- 
sociation concluded  not  to  divide:  they  held  their  Meet^  in  the 
Coll.  Chapel  the  day  of  ordination  there.  The  day  follow^  viz. 
friday  iG*'*  Sept.  the  Ordinations  were  pformed  at  Chh.  of  Engl'' 
by  the  Imposition  of  hands  of  Bp.  Seab^,  Mr.  Leaming  &  Mr. 
Mansfield."* 

There  is  no  contemporary  or  other  notice  of  a  meeting  of  the 
Convocation  until  September  22,  1786,  when  the  clergy  attended 
the  Bishop  at  Derby.  The  Bishop  now  seriously  considered  the 
subject  of  the  Communion  Office  of  the  Church  in  Scotland  as 
the  "Concordate"  and  his  personal  pledges  to  the  Bishops  of 
that  Church  required.  In  the  unsettled  state  of  the  Church  in 
America  to  the  "southward,"  Dr.  Seabury  as  the  Bishop  of  a  free 

>  A  copy  of  the  letter  is  on  pp.  239,  240  of  Dr.   Beardsley's   "  Bishop 
Seabury." 
*  Samuel  Spraggs,  of  Mount  Holly,  New  Jersey. 
Samuel  Roe,  of  Burlington,  New  Jersey. 
Samuel  Armor,  of  Queen  Anne,  Maryland. 
^  The  Rev.  Henry  Van  Dyke,  of  West  Haven,  Connecticut. 
The  Rev.  Philo  Shelton,  of  Fairfield,  Connecticut. 
The  Rev.  Thomas  Fitch  Oliver,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island. 
•*  pp.    188,    189,    HI,    The    Literary  Diary  of  Ezra    Stiles,    D.D.,    LL.D., 
President  of  Yale  College,  edited  under  the  authority  of  the  Corporation 
of  Yale  University,  by  Franklin  Bowditch  Dexter,  M.A.     Three  volumes. 
New  York  :  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1901. 


— 18— 

church  in  a  free  state  thought  he  could  exercise  his  right  as  a 
Bishop  of  the  Cathohc  Church  and  set  forth  such  services  as 
might  be  necessary  or  expedient.  After  much  dehberation  he 
drew  up  "The  Communion  Office,"  based  upon  the  Liturgy  of 
the  Church  in  Scotland  but  with  some  slight  variations  from  it. 

As  the  Bishop  never  intended  to  act  in  diocesan  matters 
without  consulting  the  clergy,  he  submitted  his  draft  to  the  Con- 
vocation at  Derby.  It  was  received  with  approval  and  enthu- 
siasm and  the  Bishop  was  requested  to  set  it  forth  for  use.^ 
Commenting  upon  its  publication.  Bishop  Williams  says :  "This 
he  did  not,  as  in  the  case  of  the  alterations  agreed  to  in  Con- 
vocation, 'enjoin'  or  'require.'  He  simply  'recommended  it 
to  the  Episcopal  Congregations  in  Connecticut.'  We  also  see, 
unless  I  greatly  err,  in  his  action  in  regard  to  changes  in  the 
State  prayers  and  his  own  Office  for  the  Holy  Communion, 
Bishop  Seabury's  ideal  of  the  position  of  a  bishop  in  the  Church 
of  God.  And  this  view  is  confirmed  by  the  active  course  of  his 
Episcopate.  What  was  established  by  competent  authority  he 
'required.'  What  was  not  so  established,  however  much  his 
own  heart  might  be  set  upon  it,  he   'recommended'."^ 

The  Convocation  considered  further  the  State  Prayers  and 
ordered  the  substitutes  to  be  incorporated  in  their  proper  places 
in  the  Prayer  Book.  For  the  petitions  in  the  Litany  referring 
to  the  Royal  Family  and  British  Government  there  was  adopted 
a  petition  for  the  protection  of  "the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled."  When  the  Litany  was  not  read  there  was  to  be 
used  a  special  Collect  for  civil  rulers,  both  the  Congress  and  the 
State  officials.  This  action  of  the  Convocation  was  communi- 
cated by  Bishop  Seabury  to  "his  Excellency,  Samuel  Huntington, 
Esquire,  Governor  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,"  in  a  dignified 
letter  in  which  he  expresses  this  sentiment:  "We  feel  it  to  be 
our  duty,  and,  I  assure  your  Excellency,  it  is  our  willing  dis- 
position, to  pray  for,  and  seek  to  promote,  the  peace  and  happi- 
ness of  the  Country  in  which  we  live,  and  the  stability  and 

^  This  Office  was  published  in  a  small  pamphlet  under  the  title  :  The 
Communion  Office  or  Order  for  the  Administration  of  the  Holy  Eucharist 
or  Supper  of  the  Lord.  With  Private  Devotions.  Recommended  to  the 
Episcopal  Congregations  in  Connecticut.  By  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop 
Seabury,     New  London  :  Printed  by  T.  Green,  MDCCLXXXVL 

*  pp.  98,  99,  The  Seabury  Centenary.  The  Wise  Ruler.  Bishop  Williams' 
Convention  Sermon.     Hartford,  June  9,  1885. 


—19— 

efficacy  of  the  Civil  Government  under  which  God's  providence 
has  placed  us."^ 

Before  the  clergy  present  at  this  Convocation  the  Bishop 
delivered  his  second  and  last  charge.  It  dealt  with  the  incon- 
venience and  suffering  which  the  withdrawal  of  the  Propagation 
Society  stipends  would  entail  upon  the  clergy,  praised  that 
Society  for  its  good  work  and  urged  the  Clergy  to  economy, 
frugality  and  the  arousing  of  the  laymen  in  the  several  congre- 
gations to  "benevolence."  The  Bishop  said:  "He  has  cut  off 
one  resource  and  He  can  open  others :  and  He  will  open  others 
should  He  see  it  best  for  us."  He  then  considered  the  spread  of 
Deism,  Arianism  and  Socinianism  and  set  forth  lucidly  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Holy  Trinity.  He  noticed  briefly  the  "Continental 
Convention"  held  in  Philadelphia  in  September,  1785.  He  com- 
mented on  the  deficiencies  of  the  "Proposed  Book"  and  criti- 
cised those  who  presumed  to  act  upon  doctrinal  and  liturgical 
matters  without  Bishops.  He  gave  his  opinion  upon  the  true 
method  of  liturgical  revision  and  the  principles  which  should 
govern  it.  From  this  topic  he  proceeds  to  the  interpretation 
of  Holy  Scripture,  which  should  always  be  done  with  due 
regard  "to  the  interpretation  of  the  oldest  Christians  and  of 
the  Universal  Church."  His  last  topic  is  the  Sacraments  of 
Holy  Baptism  and  the  Holy  Communion,  whose  doctrinal 
character  was  dwelt  upon.  He  closed  with  an  exhortation  to 
his  reverend  brethren  to  exert  themselves  "in  support  of  the 
Holy  Catholic  Faith,"  particularly  in  their  own  land,  where 
grave  dangers  menaced  it.^ 

The  conduct  of  some  of  those  who  apparently  were  leaders 
among  the  Churchmen  who  organized  the  Philadelphia  Con- 
vention was  the  reverse  of  conciliatory  to  the  Bishop,  clergy 
and  laymen  of  Connecticut.  The  New  England  character  was 
not  fully  understood;  the  firmness  and  stability  of  those  who 
had  by  conviction  become  Churchmen,  or  whose  faith  and  devo^ 
tion  to  principle  had  been  tested  by  persecution,  were  not  appre- 
ciated.    The  defects  of  the   "fundamental  principles"   of  1784, 

*  The  letter  is  dated  "New  London,  October  14,  1786."  It  is  printed  in 
full  on  p.  266  of  Dr.  Beardsley's  "  Bishop  Seabury,"  from  the  Bishop's 
Manuscript  Letter  Book,  in  possession  of  the  Rev.  Professor  Seabury. 

^  The  charge  is  reprinted  in  full  on  pp.  267-282,  Dr.  Beardsley's 
"Bishop  Seabury," 


20 

the  failure  to  revise  them,  the  changes  in  the  Prayer  Book 
which  to  very  many  seemed  to  weaken  its  doctrinal  character, 
witness  to  catholic  truth,  and  fidelity  to  the  ancient  liturgies, 
were  keenly  felt  in  Connecticut.  There  was  at  that  time  not 
even  a  strong  bond  of  civil  union.  Each  state  felt  absolutely 
independent. 

The  inherent  weakness  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  and 
the  disregard  by  the  States  of  any  request  of  the  Congress,  were 
rapidly  causing  political  discontent.  It  was  a  time  of  uneasi- 
ness and  perplexity  both  in  Church  and  State.  Where  there 
was  suspicion  instead  of  trust  and  cold  respect  instead  of 
brotherly  affection,  there  was  little  hope  of  concerted  action,  and 
plans  for  such  action  proposed  by  Churchmen  of  New  England 
were  either  ignored  or  received  with  scant  courtesy  and  little 
consideration.  The  passage  of  the  Enabling  Act  by  the  British 
Parliament  and  the  embarkation  of  the  Bishops-designate  of 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania  to  receive  consecration  at  Lam- 
beth, did  not  promise  to  bring  about  a  change  in  the  attitude 
of  the  Church  in  New  York  and  the  more  southern  states 
toward  the  Church  in  New  England.  The  brotherly  words 
of  Dr.  White  and  the  statesmanlike  overtures  of  Dr.  William 
Smith  did  not  seem  to  prevail  upon  their  brethren  in  the  Con- 
vention. The  conviction  had  been  constantly  growing  since 
September,  1785,  that  there  was  no  desire  for  a  "Continental 
union"  and  that  New  England  must  obtain  the  canonical 
number  of  Bishops  and  be  a  branch  of  the  Church  in  America 
by  herself.  When  the  Convention  of  1786  adjourned  without 
taking  any  measures  for  union,  and  when  even  insult  was 
offered  to  the  Bishop  of  Connecticut  by  imputations  of  invalid- 
ity in  his  consecration  and  refusal  to  recognize  those  ordained 
by  him.  Bishop  Seabury  and  his  clergy  thought  the  time  had 
come  to  perpetuate  the  New  England  succession. 

Under  the  influence  of  such  occurrences  and  alarmed  at  what 
might  take  place  should  he  be  removed  by  death,  Bishop 
Seabury  summoned  the  clergy  to  meet  in  Convocation  at  Wal- 
lingford  on  February  27,  1787.  The  specific  purpose  of  this 
meeting  was  the  selection  from  among  the  Connecticut  clergy 
of  a  godly  and  well  learned  man  to  be  presented  to  the  Bishops 
of  "the  Catholic  remainder  of  the  Church  of  Scotland"  to  be 
consecrated  Bishop  and  serve  as  coadjutor  to  Bishop  Seabury. 


— 21  — 

It  was  expected  that  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  would 
unite  in  electing  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parker,  and  thus  New  England 
secure  the  canonical  number  of  three  Bishops  to  perpetuate  the 
Church. 

When  the  Convocation  met  the  clergy  chose  with  great  unan- 
imity that  worthy  confessor,  Jeremiah  Leaming.  Again  he 
put  aside  the  mitre,  as  his  infirmities  and  advancing  age  warned 
him  he  could  not  fulfil  the  onerous  duties  of  the  episcopate. 
Then  all  turned  with  one  consent  to  the  Rev.  Richard  Mansfield, 
whose  work  at  Derby  and  the  whole  region  round  about  showed 
him  wise,  prudent,  humble,  and  holy.  With  an  instinctive 
modesty  and  distrust  of  himself  he  declined.  Again  the  lot 
was  cast,  and  it  fell  upon  the  Rev.  Abraham  Jarvis,  Rector 
of  Middletown  and  for  many  years  Secretary  of  the  Convention 
as  then  of  the  Convocation.^ 

No  hasty  action  was  intended.  It  was  earnestly  hoped  that 
the  Church  in  the  United  States  would  not  be  divided.  Every 
effort  was  to  be  made  for  unity  before  the  Bishop-designate 
proceeded  to  Scotland.  Bishop  Seabury  wrote  from  Walling- 
ford  on  March  2,  1787,  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Convoca- 
tion, to  Bishop  Skinner,  of  Aberdeen,  informing  him  of  the 
alarm  of  the  Clergy  "at  the  steps  taken  by  the  Clergy  and 
Laity  to  the  south  of  us,"  and  that  they  "will  send  a  gentleman 
to  Scotland  for  consecration  as  soon  as  they  know  that  the 
measure  meets  with  the  full  approbation  of  my  good  and  highly 
respected  brethren  in  Scotland."^  Before  an  answer  could  be 
received  from  the  Episcopal  College  of  Scotland,  the  newly 
consecrated  Bishops  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York  arrived 
at  New  York  on  Easter  Day,  April  7,  1787,  after  a  wearisome 
passage  of  seven  weeks.  In  an  effort  for  unity  of  action  and 
with  the  courtesy  natural  to  him.  Bishop  Seabury  wrote  to 
them  letters  of  welcome  and  congratulation  in  which  he  invited 
his  brother  Bishops  to  a  personal  conference.  In  his  letter  to 
Bishop  Provoost  he  says: 

^  p.  306,  Connecticut  Church  Documents,  II.  These  particulars  are  taken 
from  a  letter  of  the  Rev.  Roger  Viets  to  the  Rev.  Samuel  Parker.  It 
formed  a  part  of  the  Bishop  Parker  Correspondence  which  was  in  the 
possession  of  the  late  Bishop  Perry,  Historiographer  of  the  Church,  and  is 
now  dispersed. 

^  p.  294,  Dr.  Beardsley's  "Bishop  Seabury." 


— 22 — 

"A  stated  convocation  of  the  Clergy  of  this  State  is  to  be  held 
at  Stamford,  on  the  Thursday  after  Whitsunday.  As  it  is  so 
near  to  New  York,  and  the  journey  may  contribute  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  your  health,  I  should  be  much  rejoiced  to  see  you 
there;  more  especially  as  I  think  it  would  promote  the  great 
object,  the  Union  of  all  the  Churches.  May  God  direct  us  in 
all  things."^ 

Bishop  White  replied  courteously  but  cautiously,  expressing 
however  a  desire  for  union.  Bishop  Provoost  does  not  seem 
to  have  replied.  Neither  Bishop  accepted  the  invitation  for  a 
personal  meeting.  There  does  not  appear  to  be  extant  any 
record  of  the  proceedings  at  Stamford.  Referring  to  this 
meeting  Dr.  Beardsley  says :  "The  Convocation  at  Stamford 
could  do  nothing,  under  the  circumstances,  beyond  what  had 
been  already  attempted.  The  clergy  were  inclined  to  leave  the 
matter  very  much  in  the  hands  of  their  Bishop,  in  whom  they 
had  entire  confidence,  and  let  time  work  the  changes  necessary 
to  reconcile  discordant  opinions."^ 

It  is  stated  that  when  the  new  St.  James'  church.  New  London, 
was  to  be  consecrated,  Bishop  Seabury  "convoked  his  clergy 
to  be  present."^  The  deed  of  consecration  gives  the  date  as 
September  20,  1787.  A  letter  of  the  Rev.  Ashbel  Baldwin 
to  his  friend,  the  Rev.  Tillotson  Bronson,  then  in  Vermont, 
says:  "I  mentioned  in  the  inclosed  of  the  14*'^  instant,  of  our 
convening  at  New  London.  The  clergy  were  not  in  general 
present.  The  Bishop  preached  the  consecration  sermon  and 
was  universally  applauded:  he  has  a  most  excellent  talent  at 
sermonizing."*  Mr.  Baldwin  says  in  a  letter  written  later  in 
the  same  month :  "Convocation  agreed  there  might  a  Christian 
agreement  take  place  so  far  as  to  establish  the  Church  in 
America,  if  they  could  not  agree  on  the  particular  mode  of 
exercising  the  right  of  that  Church,  .  .  I  forgot  when  speaking 
of  Convocation  to  say  anything  of  their  church  in  New  Lon- 
don ;  it  is  a  pretty  one,  I  think  the  neatest  building  in  the  state, 

'  p.  307,  Connecticut  Church  Documents,  II.  pp.  299,  300,  Dr.  Beards- 
ley's  "  Bishop  Seabury,"  from  Bp.  Seabury's  MS.  Letter  Book. 

*  p.  305,  Dr.  Beardsley's  "  Bishop  Seabury." 
2  p.  315,  Dr.  Beardsley's  "Bishop  Seabury." 

*  This  letter  is  dated  November  15,  1787.  p.  315,  Dr.  Beardsley's  "  Bishop 
Seabury." 


—23— 

elegantly  finished.  The  Bishop  had  on  his  royal  attire.  The 
Crown  and  Mitre  were  refulgent.  The  reading  Psalms  were 
beautifully  chanted.  The  most  of  the  clergy  present  were 
clothed  in  their  robes,  and  the  whole  day  was  pleasing."^ 

It  was  probably  at  this  meeting  that  Bishop  Seabury  com- 
municated the  letter  of  Bishop  Skinner  in  answer  to  that  he  had 
written  from  Wallingford.  Bishop  Skinner  had  waited  until 
he  could  collect  the  opinions  of  the  Bishops  before  answering 
the  very  grave  question  of  Bishop  Seabury.  He  counselled 
patience  and  expressed  his  opinion  that  the  "English  conse- 
crate" would  not  stand  aloof  from  the  Bishop  of  Connecticut. 
If  they  did,  then  the  Scottish  College  could  not  hesitate.  "But 
fain  would  we  hope  better  things  of  these  your  American 
brethren,  and  that  there  will  be  no  occasion  for  two  separate 
communions  among  the  Episcopalians  of  the  United  States."^ 
The  discussion  of  this  letter  is  probably  referred  to  in  the 
allusion  to  the  Convocation  in  Mr.  Baldwin's  letter. 

Dr.  Seabury  and  the  parochial  clergy  of  Connecticut  were 
quietly  awaiting  overtures  of  sympathy  and  union  from  their 
brethren.  No  formal  action  could  be  taken  by  those  associated 
in  a  general  convention  until  the  spring  of  1789  when  the 
Convention  was  to  meet.  It  was,  then,  with  no  expectation  of 
friendly  overtures  that  the  Convocation  met  in  St.  John's  Church, 
North  Haven,  on  Wednesday,  October  22,  1788,  when  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Nisbett  and  David  Foot  were  advanced  to  the  priest- 
hood. Only  routine  business  seems  to  have  been  transacted. 
The  divided  state  of  the  Church  in  America  was  a  matter  of 
anxious  concern  to  thoughtful  Churchmen  both  in  New  Eng- 
land and  in  the  other  parts  of  the  Union.  As  the  differences 
and  discontent  in  the  State  had  been  composed  by  the  adoption 
of  the  Federal  Constitution,  many  hoped  that  the  Church  would 
also  adopt  measures  for  godly  union  and  concord.  The 
amiable  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  the  devoted  Rector  of  Trinity 
Church,  Boston,  and  the  active  President  of  Washington 
College,  Maryland  are  the  three  men  who  saw  most  clearly  the 

^  p.  318,  Dr.  Beardsley's  "  Bishop  Seabury."  This  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  occasion  on  which  Bishop  Seabury  wore  his  mitre.  It  is  now  in 
the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Hartford,  Connecticut. 

-  p.  297,  Dr.  Beardsley's  "  Bishop  Seabury."  The  whole  letter  is  on  pp. 
295-298. 


—24— 

sin  and  folly  of  permanent  separation,  who  contributed  by 
their  personal  influence  with  the  delegates  to  the  General  Con- 
vention and  by  their  wise  plans  which  did  not  compromise  any 
principle,  by  their  ready  willingness  to  give  up  any  notion  incon- 
sistent with  soundness  in  the  faith  and  ancient  customs  of  the 
Church  which  might  thoughtlessly  have  been  temporarily  enter- 
tained, or  been  embodied  in  conventional  action,  to  a  more  Chris- 
tian and  brotherly  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  Convention.  To 
them  should  be  added  of  our  Connecticut  clergy  the  venerable 
Dr.  Leaming,  whose  letters  to  Bishop  White  are  strong  and 
convincing.^ 

Early  in  the  Spring  of  1789  it  was  evident  that  much  of  the 
bitterness  against  Bishop  Seabury  and  his  clergy  was  subsiding. 
While  the  attitude  of  the  Bishop  of  New  York  was  still 
unfriendly,  the  Diocese  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  Benjamin 
Moore  looked  with  favor  upon  the  complete  union  of  the  Church. 
This  acceptable  change  was  soon  known  in  Connecticut  and 
caused  much  rejoicing.  A  letter  of  Bishop  White  to  Bishop 
Seabury  written  in  December,  1788,  was  so  cordial  and 
expressed  so  fully  a  desire  for  unity,  that  in  writing  to  Dr. 
Parker  on  April  10,  1789,  Bishop  Seabury  says:  "I  believe  we 
shall  send  two  Clergymen  to  the  Philadelphia  Convention,  to  see 
whether  a  union  can  be  effected.  If  it  fail,  the  point  I  believe 
will  here  be  altogether  given  up."^  It  was  under  these  encour- 
aging circumstances  that  the  Bishop  and  Clergy  met  in  Convo- 
cation at  St.  Paul's  Church,  Norwalk  on  June  3,  1789.  A 
letter  from  Bishop  Seabury  gives  clearly  their  attitude:  "The 
clergy  supposed  that  in  your  Constitution,  any  representation 
from  them  would  be  inadmissible  without  Lay  delegates,  nor 
could  they  submit  to  ofifer  themselves  to  make  a  part  of  any 
meeting  where  the  authority  of  their  Bishop  had  been  disputed 
by  one  Bishop,  and  probably  by  his  influence,  by  a  number  of 
others  who  were  to  compose  that  meeting.  They  therefore 
must  consider  themselves  excluded,  till  that  point  shall  be  set- 
tled to  their  satisfaction  which  they  hope  will  be  done  by  your 
Convention."^ 

'  See  pp.  305-308,   311-313,   331,  332,  347,  348  Dr.   Beardsley's  "Bishop 
Seabury." 

'  p.    327,  Connecticut   Church  Documents,  II.     Also  :  p.  347,  Dr.    Beards- 
ley's  "  Bishop  Seabury." 

^  Bishop  Seabury  to  Bishop  White,  New  London,  June  29,  1789.     p.  350, 
Dr.  Beardley's  "Bishop  Seabury." 


—25— 

A  convention  of  "Lay  delegates  from  our  several  congrega- 
tions" was  to  meet  in  the  Spring  of  1789  to  consider  "the 
support  of  their  Bishop"  and  "the  practicability  of  instituting 
an  Episcopal  Academy  in  this  State."  Bishop  Seabury  and  the 
clergy  generally  thought  that  "the  point  of  sending  Lay  dele- 
gates to  the  General  Convention  should  come  fairly  before 
them."  Bishop  Seabury  thus  outlines  their  action :  "When  the 
matter  w2ls  proposed  to  the  Lay  convention,  after  some  conver- 
sation, they  declined  every  interference  in  Church  government 
or  in  reformation  of  Liturgies.  They  supposed  the  government 
of  the  Church  to  be  fixed,  and  that  they  had  no  right  to  alter 
it  by  introducing  a  new  power  into  it.  They  hoped  the  old 
Liturgy  would  be  retained  with  little  alteration;  and  these 
matters  they  thought  belonged  to  the  Bishops  and  Clergy  and 
not  to  them.  They  therefore  could  send  no  delegates,  though 
they  wished  for  unity  among  the  Churches,  and  for  uniformity 
of  worship;  but  could  not  see  why  these  great  objects  could 
not  be  better  secured  on  the  old  ground  than  on  the  new  ground 
that  had  been  taken  with  you."  Bishop  Seabury  with  impres- 
sive dignity  says  in  the  same  letter  to  Bishop  White :  "For  my 
own  part,  gladly  would  I  contribute  to  the  union  and  uniformity 
of  all  our  Churches;  but  while  Bishop  Provoost  disputes  the 
validity  of  my  consecration  I  can  take  no  step  towards  the 
accomplishment  of  so  great  and  desirable  an  object."^ 

Dr.  Parker  had  devised  a  plan  which  he  thought  would 
effectually  unite  the  Church  in  New  England  with  the  Church 
in  the  rest  of  the  United  States.  It  was  the  election  of  a  Bishop 
for  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  and  a  request  by 
Memorial  to  the  General  Convention  for  the  three  Bishops  then 
in  the  United  States  to  join  in  his  Consecration.  The  five  other 
clergymen  then  resident  in  those  states  readily  agreed  to  it. 
A  convention  of  the  Clergy  was  held  at  Salem,  Mass.,  on  June 
4,  1789,  when  the  Rev*^  Edward  Bass,  Rector  of  St.  Paul's 
church,  Newburyport,  Mass.  was  duly  elected.  Those  present 
then  joined  in  the  preparation  of  "An  Act  of  the  Clergy  of 
Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,"  in  which  they  rejoiced 
that  the  good  Providence  of  Almighty  God  "had  supplied  the 
Church   in   the   United    States   with   "a   complete    and   entire 

^  Bishop  Seabury  to  Bishop  White,  "New  London,  June  29,  1789-"  P- 
350,  Dr.  Beardsley's  "  Bishop  Seabury." 


— 26 — 

Ministry,"  cited  the  facts  of  the  election  of  Mr.  Bass,  and 
requested  that  "the  Right  Reverend  the  Bishops  in  the  States 
of  Connecticut,  New  York  and  Pennsylvania"  give  "their 
united  assistance  in  consecrating  our  said  Brother  and  canoni- 
cally  investing  him  with  the  apostolic  offices  and  powers."^ 

Dr.  Parker  was  appointed  to  transmit  the  "Act"  to  the 
Bishops  named  and  as  agent  of  the  Convention  to  attend  "any 
Convention  to  be  holden  at  Philadelphia  or  New  York,  and  to 
treat  upon  any  measures  that  may  tend  to  promote  an  Union 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  throughout  the  United  States  of 
America."^  When  this  "Act"  was  brought  before  the  General 
Convention,  which  met  in  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  on  Tues- 
day, July  28,  1789,  there  was  almost  immediate  approval  of  it 
and  the  passage  of  a  resolution  affirming  the  validity  of  Dr. 
Seabury's  Consecration.  After  long  discussion  in  the  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  upon  the  best  method  to  bring  about  the 
union,  a  series  of  resolutions  offered  by  Dr.  William  Smith, 
President  of  Washington  College,  Maryland,  and  former 
Provost  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  were  adopted. 
They  declared  that  "a  complete  order  of  Bishops  derived  as  well 
under  the  English  as  the  Scots  line  of  Episcopacy  doth  now 
subsist  within  the  United  States  of  America." 

It  was  declared  that  these  three  Bishops  "are  fully  competent 
to  every  proper  act  and  duty  of  the  Episcopal  Office  and 
character  in  these  United  States."  It  was  affirmed  that  Chris- 
tian charity  as  well  as  duty  required  them  to  supply  the  wants 
of  "their  sister  churches  in  these  States :"  therefore  the  "Right 
Rev.  Dr.  White  and  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Provoost  be  and  they 
are  hereby  requested  to  join  with  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Seabury 
in  complying  with  the  prayer  of  the  Clergy  of  the  States  of 
Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  for  the  consecration  of  the 
Rev.  Edward  Bass,  Bishop-elect  of  the  Churches  in  the  said 
States."  Should  the  Bishops  consecrated  at  Lambeth  feel  "any 
difficulty  or  delicacy"  in  respect  to  an  implied  pledge  to  the 
Bishops  and  Archbishops  in  England  that  there  should  be  three 
Bishops  of  the  English  line  consecrated  for  the  United  States 
before  there  was  any  transatlantic  consecration  by  them,  "this 
Convention  will  address  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops,  and  hope 

'  p.  334,  Connecticut  Church  Documents ,  II. 
*  p.  335,  Connecticut  Church  Docufnents ,  II. 


—27— 

thereby  to  remove  the  difficulty."^  The  Convention  then 
adopted  a  body  of  Canons,  and  a  Constitution  in  which  a  pro- 
vision was  made  for  a  House  of  Bishops  when  three  should  be 
members  of  the  General  Convention.  It  was  to  act  as  a  house  of 
revision  but  had  no  power  to  originate  legislation  for  the  House 
of  Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies. 

The  Convention  adjourned  on  August  8  to  meet  again  on 
September  29  with  the  full  expectation  that  its  members  would 
then  welcome  Bishop  Seabury  and  deputies  from  New  England. 

The  pfoceedings  of  the  Convention  were  transmitted  to 
Connecticut  very  soon  after  its  adjournment.  A  formal  letter 
signed  by  the  special  committee  of  invitation,  Bishop  White, 
Dr.  WilHam  Smith,  Dr.  Samuel  Magaw,  the  Hon.  Francis  Hop- 
kinson,  and  the  Hon.  Tench  Coxe,  was  sent  on  August  16  to 
Bishop  Seabury  detailing  what  had  been  done  and  indicating  the 
liberty  allowed  in  the  Constitution  adopted  for  any  state  to  be 
represented  only  by  clergymen. 

It  disclaimed  for  the  Convention  in  the  past  any  act  implying 
the  invalidity  of  Dr.  Seabury's  consecration,  asserting  that  its 
course  in  the  matter  had  been  misunderstood. 

As  a  proof  of  "respect  for  our  sister  Churches"  everything 
had  been  postponed  "except  what  was  intended  immediately  to 
open  the  door  of  union"  until  the  session  of  September  29,  "in 
the  full  confidence  of  then  meeting  a  representation  from  all 
the  Churches  in  the  Eastern  States,  for  the  purpose  of  devising 
and  executing  such  measures  as  through  the  blessing  of  God 
may  concentre  all  our  future  labours  in  the  promotion  of  truth 
and  righteousness,  and  for  preserving  our  Church  in  the  unity 
of  the  Spirit  and  in  the  bond  of  peace."- 

Bishop  White  wrote  an  affectionate  personal  letter  to  Bishop 
Seabury  on  August  11.  In  it  he  comments  upon  the  deeds 
and  temper  of  the  Convention.  He  defers  answering  Bishop 
Seabury's  recent  letter  as  he  has  "y®  Expectation  of  our  soon 
discussing  y^  weighty  contents  of  it  more  fully  and  effectually 
than  can  be  done  in  correspondence."  He  cannot  suppose  that 
the  Bishop   "will  see  cause  to  decline  y^  unanimous  invitation 

*  PP-  53.  54.  Journals  of  the  General  Convention,  1785-1817.  Bioren's 
reprint,  1817. 

*  pp.  347-349,  Connecticut  Church  Documents,  II.  The  copy  followed 
is  the  original  draft  in  the  papers  of  Dr.  William  Smith. 


—28— 

which  you  will  herewith  receive  from  y®  Convention  to  their 
adjourned  meeting."^ 

Dr.  Smith  in  a  very  cordial  letter  gave  some  of  the  inner 
history  of  the  Convention,  especially  concerning  the  meaning  of 
the  "five  resolves"  which  he  had  offered.  He  also  invited  the 
Bishop  of  Connecticut  to  his  house  during  his  stay  in  Phila- 
delphia.^ 

Until  the  arrival  of  these  letters  Bishop  Seabury  and  the 
Connecticut  clergy  were  in  great  perplexity  as  to  the  result  of 
Dr.  Parker's  proposal.  In  a  letter  to  him  written  by  Bishop 
Seabury  on  August  26  there  is  this  inquiry :  "Have  you  yet  heard 
the  result  of  your  application  to  the  Southern  Bishops  respecting 
Mr.  Bass's  Consecration?"  The  Bishop  comments  upon  the 
information  given  him  by  Dr.  Moore  and  debates  the  question 
whether  he  should  keep  an  appointment  for  Portsmouth  or  defer 
it  and  go  to  Philadelphia.  Before  he  finished  the  letter  the  mail 
brought  him  the  three  communications  already  epitomised  and 
he  closes  with  these  words :  "I  have  determined  to  go  to  Phila- 
delphia, and  hope  to  see  you  there.  Time  will  not  permit  me 
to  add  more  than  that  I  am 

Your  affectionate,  Humble  Servant, 

S.  Bp.  Connect."^ 

Bishop  Seabury  wrote  immediately  to  Bishop  White  his  accept- 
ance of  the  invitation  to  the  adjourned  Convention.  He  fears  as 
"the  time  is  so  short"  that  "we  shall  not  be  able  to  get  our 
dispersed  clergy  together ;  but  everything  shall  be  done  that  can 
be  done,  and  I  presume  on  so  sudden  an  emergency  any  little 
informality  in  the  appointment  of  their  representatives  will  be 
overlooked."* 

The  summons  of  the  Bishop  brought  together  a  large  number 
of  the  clergy  in  a  special  Convocation  at  Stratfield  (now  Bridge- 
port) on  September  15,  1789.  As  the  Bishop  did  not  attend, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Jeremiah  Learning  was  chosen  President  and  the 

'  PP-  337i  338,  Connecticut  Church  Documents,  II. 

*  pp.  345,  346,  Conneciictit  Chtii'ch  Docutnents,  II.      "August  i6,  1789." 

^  pp.  349,  350,  Connecticut  Church  Documents,  II.,  from  the  Bishop  Parker 
Correspondence.  Also  :  Bishop  Perry's  Journals  of  the  General  Conven- 
tion, 1785-1835.     p.  408,  volume  third,  Historical  Notes  and  Documents. 

*  p.  351,  Connecticut  Church  Documents,  II.  Also,  p.  409,  Historical  Notes 
and  Documents. 


—29— 

Rev.  Mr.  Jarvis  retained  his  office  of  Secretary.  The  letters  and 
documents  received  from  Philadelphia  were  submitted  to  the 
Convocation  for  discussion  and  action. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Bowden,  then  residing  in  Stratford,  whose 
word  always  had  great  weight,  moved  that  the  Diocese  be 
represented  by  clerical  proctors,  which  was  adopted.  After 
some  informal  discussion  the  Convocation  adjourned  to  the 
following  day.  The  Rev.  Bela  Hubbard,  of  Trinity  Church, 
New  Haven  and  the  Rev.  Abraham  Jarvis,  of  Christ  Church, 
Middletown,  were  then  elected  as  "proctors,"  or  clerical  depu- 
ties, to  the  adjourned  General  Convention  to  be  holden  in 
Philadelphia  on  Tuesday,  September  29,  1789. 

They  were  "empowered  to  confer  with  the  General  Conven- 
tion on  the  subject  of  making  alterations  in  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer."  The  Convocation  expressly  stipulated  that  "the 
ratification  of  such  alterations  was  expressly  reserved  to  rest 
with  the  Bishops  and  clergy  of  this  Church."^ 

An  account  of  the  proceedings  of  this  adjourned  session  of 
the  General  Convention,  and  the  consummation  of  the  continen- 
tal union  of  the  Church  in  America  will  be  found  elsewhere  in 
this  volume.- 

The  table  of  voluntary  Conventions  and  meetings  of  the 
Convocation  to  1790  appended  to  this  introduction  is  that  given 
in  the  Convention  Journal  of  1891,  with  the  benefit  of  careful 
revision  by  Dr.  Hart,  the  compiler. 

^  These  particulars  are  given  by  Dr.  Beardsley  on  pp.  409,  410  of  his 
History,  I.  Also  on  pp.  367,  368  of  his  Life  of  Bishop  Seabury.  The  quo- 
tation marks  are  as  above.     Dr.  Beardsley  does  not  mention  his  authority. 

2  See  Note  V. 


— 3c^ 


VOLUNTARY  CONVENTIONS  OF  THE  CLERGY 
OF  CONNECTICUT. 

A.D.  1739— A.D.  1785. 

1739,  March  29  Fairfield. 

1740,  May  4 New  London. 

1742,  August  24 Fairfield. 

1743,  May  16 Stratford. 

1744,  March  28 Norwalk. 

1760,  June  4 New  Haven. 

1765,  June  5  Hebron. 

1766,  May  28 Wallingford. 

1766,  October  8  Stratford. 

1767,  June  17 Turkey  Hills  in  Simsbury. 

1769,  May  24 New  Milford. 

1770,  June  13  Litchfield. 

1771,  May  22    Norwich. 

1772,  June  24    Fairfield. 

1773,  September  8   

1776,  July  23 New  Haven. 

1782,  May  29 Middletown. 

1783,  March  25   Woodbury. 

1784,  January  13 Wallingford. 

1785,  August  2   Middletown. 


MEETINGS  OF  THE  CONVOCATION  OF  THE 
CLERGY  OF  CONNECTICUT. 

A.D.  1785— A.D.  1790. 

1785,  August  3   Middletown. 

September  14 New  Haven. 

1786,  September  22 Derby. 

1787,  February  27   Wallingford. 

May  31   Stamford. 

1788,  October  22 North  Haven. 

1789,  June  3 Norwalk. 

September  15   Stratfield. 


Records  of  the  Convocation 


Connecticut 


Records  of  the  Convocation 


Connecticut 


[1790] 


At  a  Convocation  of  the  Clergy  of  Connecticut,  holden  at 
Litchfield,  on  the  2^.  day  of  June  1790 — 


Prefent, 

The  Bishop 

The  Rev'd  Mefs". 

,  Hubbard             The  Rev'd  Mefs". 

Ives 

Jarvis 

Prindle 

Bostwick 

Foot 

Sayre 

Clarke 

Shelton 

Hull 

Baldwin 

Marsh 

Perry 

Edw<^. 

Blakeslee 

SoP. 

Blakeslee^ 

The  Clergy  met  at  11.  °clock,  &  by  particular  defire  attended 
Divine  Service  at  the  Presbyterian  Meeting-House.^  The 
Rev'd  M^  Sayre  read  Prayers— The  Rev'd  M'.  Truman  Marsh 
was  ordained  Priest — And  a  Sermon  was  preached  by  the 
Bishop,  the  Rt.  Rev'd  Doct^  Samuel  Seabury. — 

At  4.  °clock  P.  M.  the  Clergy  met  again  at  the  Rev'd  M'. 
Baldwin's ;   &  the  Rev'd  M^  Sayre  was  chofen  Secretary. 

Refolved,  that  a  Blank-Book  be  provided  at  the  expence  of 
Convocation,  in  which,  minutes  of  their  proceedings  shall  be 
entered  by  the  Secretary — And  that  the  said  Book  shall  be  pro- 
duced, by  the  Secretary,  at  every  Convocation. 
Adjourned,  to  meet  tomorrow-morning. 

•  Note  I.  ^  Note  11. 

3 


—34— 

Met  June  3^.  9.  "clock  A.  M.  as  p"".  adjournment.  The  Rev'd 
M^  Sayre  refigned  the  office  of  Secretary : — and  The  Rev'd 
M^  Perry  was  chosen  in  his  place. — 

On  motion,  it  was  agreed,  that  the  Constitution  &  Canons 
of  the  Church,  formed  by  the  late  General  Convention  at  Phila- 
delphia, be  read :  Which,  after  a  short  examination,  were 
deferred  for  further  consideration,  at  the  adjourned  Convoca- 
tion, to  be  holden  on  the  26^'\  of  Aug*. — 

Docf,  David  Perry,  Layman,  was  admitted  as  a  candidate  for 
Holy  Orders — &  being  examined  by  Mess''^  Jarvis,  Bostwick,  & 
Baldwin,  was  found  worthy  to  receive  Deacon's  Orders. 

Voted,  That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  draw  up  rules  & 
Canons  for  regulating  the  discipline  of  the  Church  in  Connecti- 
cut:— and  that  the  Rev'd  Docf.  Leaming,  The  Rev'd  Mess" 
Jarvis,  Mansfield,  &  Hubbard  be  a  Committee  for  the  purpose — 
&  that  they  prepare  the  fame  against  the  next  Convocation. 

June  4*''.  met  at  9.  "clock,  A.  M. — and  adjourned  to  the  26-^. 
of  Aug*,  to  meet  at  The  Rev'd  M''.  Perry's  at  Newtown. 

Sunday,  June  6*^.  Docf.  David  Perry  was  ordained  Deacon  by 
the  R*.  Rev'd  Samuel,  Bish^.  of  Connecticut.^ — 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Connecticut, 
holden  by  adjournment,  at  the  Rev'd  M^  Perry's  at  Newtown, 
on  the  last  day  of  Sepf.  1790. 

Prefent.— 

The  Rev'd  Mefs".  Mansfield  The  Rev'd  Mefs'"^  Brunson 

Hubbard  Prindle 

Bostwick  Foot 

Sayre  Clarke 

Shelton  '                    Hull 

Perry  Marsh 

Ives  Ed''.  Blakeslee 

The  Clergy  met  at  7.  "clock  in  the  Evening — &  chose  the 
Rev'd  M^  Mansfield  President.— 

Voted,  That  the  Constitution  &  Canons  of  the  Church,  agreed 
to  by  the  General  Convention  at  Philadelphia,  in  Octob'".  2^. 
1789,  be  read,  &  considered, — agreeably  to  a  vote  of  the  Convo- 

3  Note  in. 


—35— 

cation  at  Litchfield  on  the  2''.  day  of  June  1790. — Upon  which 
the  Constitution  &  Canons  were  read,  &  the  Convocation 
adjourned  till  to-morrow  10.  "clock. — 

Octob'".  i^*.  Met  according  to  adjournment  in  the  Church. 
After  morning  Prayer,  read  by  R*^.  M''.  Shelton,  the  Constitu- 
tion &  Canons  were  examined  &  considered.  After  which  a 
motion  was  made,  to  take  a  vote  of  the  prefent  members, 
Whether  the  Constitution  &  Canons  should  be  adopted.  The 
motion  was  not  agreed  to,  as  the  majority  of  the  Convocation 
wished  for  further  consideration. 

Adjourned  till  the  Afternoon. 

The  R^  Rev'd  Bishop  Seabury,— The  Rev'd  Mess".  Fogg, 
Tyler,  &  Todd,  joined  the  Convocation 

Met  in  the  Church  at  3.  Mock — And  the  Bishop  took  his  seat 
as  Prefident,  ex  officio. — The  Rev'd  M''.  Ogilvie  took  his  Seat 
as  a  member  of  the  Convocation. — * 

The  alterations  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  made  by  the 
General  Convention  at  Philadelphia,  were  read  &  considered. — 

On  motion,  The  question  was  put,  in  these  words,  "Whether 
"we  confirm  the  doings  of  our  Proctors  in  the  General  Conven- 
"tion  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  2^.  day  of  Octob\  i/Sp."  " 

Which  pafsed  in  the  affirmative  by  the  votes  of  every  member 
prefent,  the  Rev'd  AF.  Sayre  excepted: — Who  then  entered  the 
following  Protest  against  the  aforesaid  Vote  &  proceedings  of 
the  Convocation,  which  Protest  is  here  recorded  at  his  defire  by 
order  of  the  Convocation,  viz. — 

*Tn  the  Name  of  our  Lord  Jefus  Christ,  Amen. 

"I  James  Sayre,  a  Minister,  in  Presbyter's  Orders,  of  the 
"Church  of  England,  of  late  having  officiated  as  a  Presbyter  of 
"the  Church  of  England  in  Connecticut,  &  having  been  a  mem- 
"ber  of  a  Convention  of  the  Clergy  of  Connecticut,  for  the  pur- 
"pose  of  considering  an  Invitation  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  in 
"the  Southern  States,  to  the  Episcopal  Clergy  in  Connecticut,  to 
"unite  with  them  in  a  general,  ecclesiastical  System  for  the  Epis- 
"copalians  in  the  United  States, — at  which  Convention,  two 
"Proctors  were  chosen  by  ballot,  to  meet  the  Episcopal  Clergy 
"at  a  General  Convention  held  at  Philadelphia  from  the  29^^.  of 
"Sepf.  to  the  i6"\  Octob"".  1789. — &  to  treat  with  them  upon 
"terms  of  union, — but,  with  this  restriction  of  the  power  dele- 
"gated  to  the  faid  Proctors,  or  to  this  effect,    "That  their  pro- 

*  Note  IV.  ^  Note  v. 


-36- 

"ceedings  in  the  s^.  Treaty  should  not  be  deemed  conclusive,  till 
"they  should  be  considered  &  approved  by  the  body  of  the 
"Clergy,  their  Constituents"  do  folemnly  protest  against  the 
"signature  of  the  "General  Constitution  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
"copal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  made  by  the 
"said  Proctors,  on  the  second  day  of  Octob'^.  1789,  in  the  City 
"of  Philadelphia, — and  against  the  Vote  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy 
"in  Connecticut,  this  day  made  &  taken,  whereby  the  said  signa- 
"ture  of  the  aforesaid  Constitution  by  the  said  Proctors  has  been 
"approved  &  adopted :  For  Reasons  alledging, — 
"i.^*^  That  the  said  General  Constitution  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
"copal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  does  not  import 
"in  it,  that  Form  of  the  Government  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
"which  it's  blefsed  &  glorious  Head  imprefsed  upon  it ;  which 
"is  therefore,  it's  proper,  &  only  right  Government ; — which  was 
"committed  to  the  Apostles  &  their  succefsors  in  office,  fince 
"their  day  stiled  Bishops ;  &  which  has  therefore  obtained  the 
"name  of  the  Episcopal  Government  of  the  Church ;  but  that  the 
"s^.  general  Constitution  signed  &  approved  as  aforesaid,  is 
"repugnant  to  the  above-described  proper,  only  right,  &  episcopal 
"Government  of  the  Church. — And,  altho'  I  think  this  reason  of 
"sufficient  force,  tho'  it  ftood  alone ;  Yet  I  alledge, 

2_diy  ''That,  the  faid  Constitution  will  be  found  disagreeable  & 
"distrefsing  to  great  numbers  of  good  Christians,  lately  members 
"of  the  Church  of  England  in  Connecticut,  &  will  have  the  most 
"probable  tendency  to  occasion  divisions  &  feparations. 

2  diy  That,  by  the  aforesaid  "General  Constitution,"  all  the 
"sacred  matters  of  the  Church,  her  Doctrines,  Discipline,  Lit- 
"urgy.  Sacraments,  Rites,  &  Offices,  are  fubjected  to  the  utmost 
"hazard ;  as  they  must  naturally  be  fupposed  to  be  in  the  power 
"of  the  same  hands  in  which  the  government  of  the  Church  is 
"lodged;  and  which  Hazard,  it  is  my  opinion,  the  authorized 
"Stewards  of  God  are  not  warranted  to  encounter, 
and 

"Lastly,  "That  the  alteration  of  any  fystem  of  long  ftanding 
"has  ever  been  productive  of  more  or  lefs  inconvenience  &  dam- 
"age;  &  that,  therefore,  old  fystems  should  not  be  changed 
"without  necefsity." — 

"In  witnefs  whereof  I  have  hereunto  fet  my  Hand  this  i^^  day 
"of  Octob'.  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1790 — 

"at  Newtown — James  Sayre" 


—37— 

The  foregoing  Protest  being  read,  &  ordered  to  be  recorded  by 
defire  of  the  Rev'd  M^  Sayre: — The  Convocation  was  then 
adjourned  to  9.  °clock  to-morrow  morning. — 

Octob'.  2^.  This  morning  the  Rev'd  M^  Sayre  withdrew  & 
left  the  Convocation. — 

Met  in  the  Church  at  9.  °clock 

Morning  Prayer  being  read  by  Rev'd  M''.  Prindle,  A  motion 
was  made,  that  the  Convocation  should  determine  on  a  mode  of 
introducing  the  Constitution  &  Canons  &  Liturgy  in  our  several 
parishes : — When  it  was  agreed  that  each  of  the  Clergy  should 
take  that  method  that  should  appear  to  him  the  most  eligible. 

Agreed,  also,  that  in  the  use  of  the  New-Prayer-Book,  we  be 
as  uniform  as  pofsible, — &  for  that  purpose,  that  we  approach 
as  near  the  Old  Liturgy,  as  a  compliance  with  the  Rubrics  of 
the  A^ezu  will  allow. — 

Agreed,  that  the  Secretary  write  letters  to  the  Churches  of 
Woodbury  &  Salem,  recommending  to  them,  an  union  with  the 
Church  at  Waterbury,  for  the  purpose  of  settling  a  Minister.® 

Refolved,  by  a  Vote  of  the  Convocation,  that  a  College  of  Doc- 
tors of  Divinity  be  established,  by  the  Bishop  &  Clergy  of  Con- 
necticut: And  that  the  College  of  Doctors  shall  be  considered 
as  the  Bishop's  Council, — to  be  consulted  on  any  emergency  that 
may  arise : — and  that  the  Rev'd  Mefsrs.  Dibble,  Mansfield,  Hub- 
bard, &  Jarvis,  be  the  first  four  Doctors.'^ 

The  Rev'd  M''.  Ogilvie,  Deacon,  offered  himself  as  a  candidate 
for  Priest's  Orders : — His  title,  letters  of  recommendation  &c 
being  produced  &  read,  were  deemed  fatisfactory.  The  Rev'd 
Mefs''^  Hubbard  &  Perry  were  appointed  his  examiners — and 
on  Sunday  morning,  Octob''.  3^  he  was  ordained  (in  Christ's 
Church,  Newtown)  to  the  order  of  Priest,  by  the  R\  Rev'd 
Samuel  B^.  Connecticut. 


[1791] 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Connect*,  holden 
at  the  Rev'd  M^  Prindle's,  at  Watertown,  on  Wednesday  5*^.  of 
Octob'".  1 791 — II.  °clock  A.  M. 

'  Note  VI.  ■"  Note  vii. 


-38- 

Prefent. 

The  Rev'd  Mefs".  Mansfield 

The  Rev'd  Mefs".  Clarke 

Hubbard 

Todd 

Shelton 

Hull 

Perry 

Ogilvie 

Ives 

Prindle 

Rev'd  M"".  Mansfield  chosen  President,  p.  t. 

2.  °clock  P.  M.  proceeded  to  the  Church. — Prayers  were  read 
by  the  Rev'd  M"".  Todd  ; — &  a  fermon  delivered  by  the  Rev'd  M^ 
Perry. — After  fervice,  returned  to  Rev'd  M"".  Prindle's — When 
the  Convocation  was  joined  by  the  R*.  Rev'd  Bishop  Seabury, 
Rev'd  Mefs".  Jarvis  &  Tyler,— &  Rev'd  M^  Perry,  Deacon.— 
Proceeded  to  businefs. 

Voted  ;  That  a  Standing  Committee  be  appointed,  as  required 
by  the  6**^.  Canon  agreed  on  by  the  Gen\  Convent'^,  at  Philadel- 
phia in  Ocf.  1789.  &  that  the  Committee  consist  of  the  Rev'd 
Mefs".  Mansfield,  Hubbard,  Shelton,  Ives,  &  P.  Perry.«— 

Voted ;  That  those  who  shall  hereafter  prefent  themselves  to 
this  Convocation  to  be  admitted  as  Candidates  for  Holy  Orders, 
fhall,  previous  to  their  admifsion,  be  examined  by  the  Convoca- 
tion, or  the  Standing  Committee  of  Convocation. 

Voted ;  That  the  6'^.  Canon  of  the  General  Convention  afore- 
faid,  be  the  general  rule  to  direct  the  Convocation,  or  Standing 
Committee,  in  their  examination  of  perfons  to  be  admitted  as 
Candidates. 

Voted ;  That  every  Candidate  for  orders  fhall  have  been  a 
Communicant  in  this  Church,  one  year  at  least,  previous  to  his 
recommendation  for  orders,  &  that  this  fhall  be  a  necefsary  quali- 
fication. 

Adjourned  at  9.  "clock  this  evening, — to  meet  at  9.  °clock", 
to-morrow-morning  in  the  Church. 

Thursday,  Octob"'.  6*^^.  met  in  the  Church  at  9.  "clock  A.  M. 
according  to  adjournment. — When,  Prayers  having  been  read  by 
the  Rev'd  M'.  Ogilvie,  the  Convocation  proceeded  to  bufiness. — 

The  Convocation  having  attended  to  the  application  of  M^ 
R.  B.  Marfhall  to  be  admitted  a  Candidate  for  H.  Orders,  recom- 
mend to  him,  to  apply  to  his  ftudies  for  one  year,  that  he  may 
qualify  himfelf,  as  the  7*''.  Canon  of  the  general  Convention  at 

*  Note  vni. 


—39— 

Philadelphia  requires ;  &  then  the  Convocation  will  chearfuUy 
encourage  him  &  admit  him  a  Candidate  for  orders,  provided  he 
obtain  a  title,  &  proper  testimonials,  agreeably  to  the  6**^.  Canon 
aforefaid. 

Rev'd  Mefs".  Bostwick,  Baldwin  &  Marsh  joined  the  Convo- 
cation.— 

Voted ;  That  M"".  Seth  Hart  be  recommended  for  examination 
for  the  order  of  a  Deacon. — 

Adjourned  to  2.  o  clock  P.  M. — 

2.  "clock  P.  M.  afsembled  as  p'".  adjournment. — 

Voted :  That,  in  the  use  of  the  Common  Prayer  Book,  we  will 
use  the  Nicene-Crecd  on  Communion  Days ;  &  the  Apostle's 
Creed  on  all  other  days. 

Voted :  That  the  College  of  Doctors  shall  consist  of  a  limited 
number :  Which  number  shall  never  be  lefs  than  four  ;  (allowing 
six  months  to  fupply  a  vacancy  which  may  be  caused  by  death 
or  removal) — &  shall  never  exceed  six,  unlefs  by  the  confent  of 
the  Convocation. 

Voted ;  That  the  instalment  of  the  Doctors  shall  be  by 
Diploma  from  the  College  of  Doctors,  which  shall  be  announced 
by  the  Bishop  in  public,  at  the  next  Convocation. — 

Voted ;  That  the  Acts  of  this  Convocation  relative  to  the  Col- 
lege of  Doctors,  shall  be  published  in  the  Connecticut-Journal,^ 

The  Committee,  appointed  by  the  Convocation,  in  June  1790, 
to  prepare  Canons  for  the  internal  government  of  the  Church  in 
this  State,  made  their  report. 

Voted :  That  the  Canons  reported  by  said  committee,  be 
revised  &  completed  by  the  Bishop,  &  the  College  of  Doctors ; 
&  laid  before  the  next  Convocation. 

Adjourned ;  to  meet  at  9.  "clock  tomorrow-morning  in  the 
Church.     9.  "clock  met  as  p*'.  adjournment. 

Prayers  having  been  read  by  the  Rev'd  M"".  Marsh — the  Con- 
vocation proceeded  to  businefs. — 

Voted ;  That  we  will  prefent  a  memorial  to  the  General 
Afsembly  of  this  State,  praying  for  a  repeal  of  the  Certificate, 
or  Conscience  Act,  pafsed  at  their  last  fefsion  in  May. 

Voted;  That  the  Rev'd  Doct^'.  Mansfield  &  Hubbard  be  a 
committee  with  the  Bishop,  to  confer  &  concur  with  Jon'^.  Inger- 
foll  Esq'',  in  drawing  a  memorial  to  be  presented  to  the  Afsembly 
in  behalf  of  this  Convocation  for  the  aforesaid  purpose. — 

'  Note  IX. 


— 40— 

Voted ;  That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  meet  at  Reading  on 
the  lo*'^.  inst.  to  enquire  into  the  state  of  the  feveral  Churches  of 
Reading,  Ridgefield  &  Danbury  relative  to  their  uniting  &  fet- 
tling the  Rev'd  D.  Perry,  Deacon,  to  be  their  Minister ; — &  that 
the  Rev'd  Mefs''^  Bowden,  Shelton,  Ogilvie,  Clarke,  &  Perry,  be 
a  Committee  for  the  purpose.     In  purfuance  of  which, — 

Voted ;  That  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  fend  a  notification  of 
s**.  meeting  to  the  Wardens  &  Vestry  of  the  aforefaid  Churches, 
&  request  their  attendance,  or  of  Committees  in  their  ftead  from 
s*.  Churches 

Voted ;  That  each  Clergyman  recommend  it  to  the  people  of 
his  Ctire,  to  choose  one  or  more  persons  to  reprefent  them  at  a 
Convocation  to  be  holden  at  the  Church  in  N.  Haven  on  the  30**^. 
of  May  next  at  10.  °clock,  A.  M.  which  reprefentatives  are  to 
be  considered  as  a  Comm"®^.  of  conference,  to  confer  with  the 
Convocation,  at  that  time  &  place,  on  all  matters  that  respect  the 
temporal  interest  of  the  Church. — 

Sunday  9*^.  of  Octob"".  M''.  Seth  Hart  was  ordained  Deacon 
at  Watertown.^" — Sunday  i6*^  of  Ocf^.  the  Rev'd  D.  Perry  was 
ordained  Priest  at  Stratfield  by  the  R*.  Rev'd  Samuel  B^. 
Connect*. 

[1792] 

At  a  Convocation  holden  at  East  Haddam,  on  the  15*^.  of 
Feb^.  1792. 

Prefent 

The  R*.  Rev'd  Bishop  Seabury 

The  Rev'd  Mefs'^  Hubbard  Rev'd  Mefs".  Prindle 

Bowden  Clarke 

Shelton  Ogilvie 

Baldwin  E.  Blakeley 

Brunfon  S.  Blakely 

Convocation  being  opened  at  10.  °clock.  A.  M.  the  Rev'd  M'. 
Shelton  was  chosen  Secretary  (pro  hac  vice). 

Voted ;  That  unlefs  the  Wardens  &  Vestrymen  of  Christ's 
Church  in  Stratford,  shall  transmit  to  the  R*.  Rev'd  the  Bishop 
of  Connecticut,  within   14  days  after  Easter-Monday  next,  a 

"  Note  X. 


—41— 

Notification,  that  the  congregation  of  s"^.  Church,  have  adopted 
the  constitution  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  as  settled 
by  the  general  Convention  at  Philadelphia,  in  Octob^  1789, 
they  (the  Congregation)  will  be  confidered  as  having  totally 
feparated  themselves  from  the  Church  of  Connecticut, 

Voted ;  That  the  Rev'd  M"".  Shelton  acting  as  Secretary  to  the 
Convocation,  shall  transmit  to  the  Wardens  &  Vestrymen  of 
Christ's  Church  in  .Stratford,  the  above  vote. — 

Voted ;  That  the  feveral  Clergy  make  enquiry  of  their  neigh- 
bouring Towns,  &  fee  what  could  be  done  towards  erecting  an 
Episcopal  Academy ;  &  make  report  to  the  next  Convocation. — 

Voted ;  That  a  Notitia  Parochialis  be  made  out,  and  exhibited 
to  the  next  Convocation,  for  the  year  past. 

Voted ;  That  the  next  State  Convocation  be  holden  at  New 
Haven,  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  June  next,  at  10.  "clock  in  the 
morning. 

Proposed  as  Lay-Delegates  to  the  Gen^  Convention  at  New 
York  in  Sept',  next,  Mefs'■^  Jon".  Ingerfoll  Esq'.  Thomas  Belden 
Esq'.  Philip  Nichols  Esq'.  John  Wooster  Esq'.  Mark  Prindle 
Esq'.  &  Ebenezar  Baldwin. — 

Thursday  11.  "clock  went  to  Church.  The  Rev'd  M'.  Bald- 
win read  prayers : — and  the  R*.  Reverend  the  Bishop  of  Connec- 
ticut, preached  the  Sermon. — 

After  Dinner,  the  Convocation  rose. — 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Epis\  Clergy  of  Connect*,  holden  in 
Trinity  Church,  New  Haven  on  the  6*^.  of  June  1792 — 


Prefent— 

The  Right 

Rev'd  the 

Bishop 

The  Rev'd  Mefs'^  Dibble- 

Rev'd  Mefs'^ 

,  Ives 

Mansfield 

Clarke 

Hubbard 

Foot 

Jarvis 

Brunfon 

Bowden 

Todd 

Shelton 

Hull 

Baldwin 

Marsh 

Perry 

Ogilvie 

Prindle 

Blakelee 
Blakelee 
Hart 

—42— 

On  application  of  M^  Herschel  to  be  admitted  as  a  Candidate 
for  Holy  Orders,  he  was  referred  to  the  Standing  Committee : — 
who  after  due  inquiry  &  examination,  came  to  the  following 
determination — "The  Committee,  for  reasons  laid  before  them, 
do  not  think  proper  to  admit  M"".  Herschel  at  prefent  into  the 
List  of  Candidates :  &  do  direct  that  he  fhall  not  continue  to 
read  prayers  at  Branford." — 

A  copy  of  the  foregoing,  by  defire  of  the  Committee,  was 
transmitted  by  the  Seer*',  of  Convoc".  to  M'.  Herschel. — 

Mefs".  Rufsel  Catlin  &  David  Butler  on  due  examination  were 
found  qualified  for  the  order  of  Deacons : — and  on  Sunday  fol- 
lowing were  ordained  to  the  fame  in  Trinity  Church,  by  the  R^ 
Rev'd  BP.  Seabury.i^ 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Connecticut, 
holden  at  Huntington  on  the  io"\  of  Octob"^.  1792. 

Prefent. 
The  R^  Rev'd  the  Bishop 
The  Rev'd  D^  Mansfield  The  Rev'd  Mefs".  Brunfon 

The  Rev'd  Mefs'•^  Hubbard  Ives 

Bowden  Clarke 

Tyler  Ogilvie 

Shelton  Todd 

Perry  Blakeslee 
Prindle 

At  II.  "clock  A.  M.  proceeded  to  bufinefs. — Upon  an  applica- 
tion from  a  number  of  Episcopalians  in  the  Parish  of  Exeter,  & 
town  of  Lebanon,  (who  have  formed  themselves  into  a  Society, 
&  chosen  for  their  Wardens  M"".  Israel  Williams  &  D^  Noah 
Coleman)  praying  the  Bishop  &  Clergy  to  confider  them  as  a 
feparate  ecclefiastical  Society,  &  to  allow  them  the  privileges 
pertaining  thereto : — Voted, — That  faid  people  be  confidered  as 
a  feparate  ecclefiastical  fociety,  provided  they  annex  themfelves 
to  the  Cure  of  Hebron. — 

Voted,  That  Mefs''^  Greens,  Printers  in  New  Haven,  have  the 
refusal  of  printing  an  Edition  of  the  Common  Prayer-Book: — 
&  that  the  Rev'd  Mefs''^  Hubbard  &  Bowden  be  a  Committee  to 
negotiate  the  bufiness  with  faid  Printers.  And  they  are  hereby 
authorised  to  afsure  i^.  Printers,  that  they  with  any  perfons, 

"  Note  XI. 


—43— 

whom  they  may  choose  as  partners  in  the  businefs,  fhall  have 
the  exckisive  privilege  of  being  recommended  to  the  standing 
Committee  of  the  General  Convention  for  a  Licence.^^ 

At  9.  °clock  in  the  evening  adjourned — to  meet  at  9.  "clock 
to-morrow-morning,  in  the  Church. 

Thursday, — Met  according  to   adjournment. — 

The  Rev'd  M"".  Shelton  read  Prayers. — 

Voted,  That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  make  out  a  revifion 
of  the  Articles,  &  prefent  it  to  the  next  Convoc".  for  their  appro- 
bation :  &  that  faid  Committee  consist  of  the  Rev'd  M^  Bowden, 
Rev'd  D^  Mansfield,  Rev'd  Mefs^^  Hubbard  &  Jarvis.— 

Voted,  That  fhould  an  Act  be  obtained  of  the  Gen\  Afsembly 
incorporating  any  number  of  perfons  as  Trustees  of  a  Fund  for 
the  Bishop's  fupport,  it  is  our  wish,  that  The  Rev'd  D"".  Mans- 
field, Rev'd  Mefs".  Hubbard,  Bowden,  Jarvis,  Baldwin,  Tyler, 
Perry  &  Shelton,  may  be  members  of  that  Corporation :  And 
it  is  our  defire  further,  that  at  least  an  equal  number  of  Lay- 
men fhould  be  included  in  the  Corporation." — 

Voted,  That,  the  fame  perfons,  who  were  appointed  a  Stand- 
ing Committee  at  the  last  Convocation,  be  continued  to  the  next. 

The  Rev'd  M^  Hart,  Deacon,  prefented  himself  to  be  admitted 
to  the  order  of  Priest ;  &  after  due  examination, — was  on  Sun- 
day 14*^.  Octob''.  ordained  to  the  fame  in  S*.  Paul's  Church, 
Huntington,  by  the  R*.  Rev'd  D"^.  Seabury. — An  ordination  fer- 
mon  was  preached  by  the  Rev'd  M''.  Shelton. 

[1793] 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Connecticut, 


holden  at  Middletown  on  Wednesday  June  5*'^,  : 

[793-— 

Prefent. 

The  R*.  Rev'd  Bishop  Seabury 

The  Rev'd  Mefs".  Hubbard       The  Rev'd  Mefs^= 

.  Brunfon 

Jarvis 

Ives 

Tyler 

Marsh 

Bostwick 

Ogilvie 

Bowden 

Hart 

Shelton                                  E. 

Blakeflee 

Baldwin                                 S. 

Blakeflee 

Perry 

Butler 

Catlin 

"  Note  xn.                               "  Note  xni. 

d 

o 
o 

3 


—44— 

M"".  Charles  Seabury ;  &  M"".  Daniel  Boerhance  (of  Lanesbor- 
ough)  prefented  themfelves  for  admission  to  the  order  of  Dea- 
cons. Being  found  qualified  by  due  examination ; — They  were 
ordained,  in  Christ's  Church  by  the  R*.  Rev'd  Samuel,  B^.  of 
Connecticut.^* 

The  Committee  appointed  at  the  last  Convocaf^.  to  make  out 
a  revision  of  the  Articles  of  Religion,  laid  the  fame  before  the 
Convocation :  Which  revision  being  examined  &  considered  was, 
with  a  few  alterations,  approved  as  far  as  the  17**^.  Article; — 
which,  with  those  that  follow,  was  laid  over  for  further  confid- 
eration,  at  the  next  Convocation. 

Information  being  given  to  the  Convocation,  that  the  Rev'd 
M^  Belden,  Deacon,  had,  in  feveral  instances,  officiated  in  the 
parish  of  another  Clergyman,  without  proper  permifsion : — 
Voted,  That  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  write  to  Mr.  Belden, 
&  transmit  to  him  that  Canon  of  the  General  Convention,  which 
forbids  such  irregular  proceeding. 

Voted,  That  the  Secretary  write  to  the  Rev'd  D*^.  Perry, 
on  the  subject  of  his  not  attending  the  stated  Conventions,  or 
Convocations ;  &  fignify  to  him,  that  it  is  the  wish  of  his 
Brethren,  that  he  would  not  neglect  to  attend,  whenever  cir- 
cumstances will  pofsibly  admit. 

The  Rev'd  Mefs''^  E.  Blakeflee,  &  S.  Blackeflee,— Butler  & 
Catlin,  Deacons,  being  examined  for  admifsion  to  the  holy 
Order  of  Priests,  were,  on  Sunday  9*''.  of  June  ordained  to  the 
fame  by  the  R^  Rev'd  the  Bishop  of  Connecticut. — 

The  Convocation  adjourned,  to  meet  at  New  Milford  on  the 
last  Wednesday  of  Sepf.  next. 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Connecticut, 
holden  at  New  Milford,  Sepf.  25-1793. 

Prefent, 
The  Rt.  Rev'd  Bp.  Seabury 

Rev'd  Mefs'■^  Jar  vis       ^  Rev'd  Mefs".  Marsh 

Prindle      I  Ogilvie 

Brunson    f  Hart 

Ives  J  Butler 

Voted — That  the  Rev'd  Seth  Hart  act  as  Secretary — pro 
tempore. 

'*  Note  XIV. 


—45— 

Voted — That,  whenever  a  certain  paper  relative  to  the  Rev'd 
M''.  James  Sayre  be  transmitted  by  the  Bishop  to  the  feveral 
Clergymen  of  the  Church  in  Connecticut,  they  fhall  read  it  in 
the  feveral  Congregations  under  their  care,  on  the  first  funday 
fubfequent  to  their  receiving  it. — ^^ 

Voted, — That,  the  Clergy,  in  the  execution  of  their  ministerial 
office,  can  not  pay  any  attention  to  the  Church  at  Woodbury, 
until  they  accede  to  the  Constitution  of  the  Church  in  Connec- 
ticut.— 

Voted.— That  W.  Smith  Miles  be  admitted  as  a  Candidate  for 
Holy  Orders. — 

Voted. — That,  no  Clergyman  fhall  organize  any  newly  formed 
religious  Congregation,  until  the  next  annual  Convention : — and 
that  it  be  recommended  to  any  number  of  people  wishing  to  be 
acknowledged  a  distinct  Congregation  in  the  Church,  that  they 
be  reprefented  at  the  next  annual  Convention,  by  one  or  more 
delegates,  authorized  to  accede  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
Church  in  Connecticut. 


[1794] 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Connecticut, 
holden  in  Trinity  Church,  N.  Haven,  June  5*^  1794- — 


Prefent 

The  Rt  Rev'd  Bishop  Seabury 

The  Rev'd  Doct'^  Mansfield 

The  Rev'd  Mef  s'^ 

.  Brunfon 

Hubbard 

Todd 

Jarvis 

Prindle 

The  Rev'd  Mefs^^  Tyler 

Marsh 

Bowden 

Ogilvie 

Shelton 

Hart 

Baldwin 

E. 

Blakelee 

P.  Perry 

-  Butler 

Ives 

Deacons  ^ 

Seabury 
L  Burhans 

Prayers  were  read  by  the  Rev'd  M'.  Todd. 
Voted,  That  the  Rev'd  Mefs".  Bowden,  Shelton,  &  Baldwin 
be  a  Committee  to  examine  Candidates,  &  to  transact  fuch  other 
'5  Note  XV. 


— 46 — 

businefs  as  may  properly  come  before  them  till  the  next  Con- 
vocation.— 

Voted,  That,  Whereas  a  Petition  has  been  prefented  by  a  num- 
ber of  persons  belonging  to  the  Church  in  Pauqutannok,  to  this 
Convocation, — praying  for  liberty  to  admit  M"^.  King  &  others 
of  his  denomination  into  f.d  Church  for  the  purpose  of  per- 
forming divine  fervice — 

After  a  full  discufsion  of  the  fubject : — 

Voted,  That  this  Convocation  do  not  consider  themfelves 
vested  with  power  fufficient  to  judge  &  determine  on  the  request 
of  the  Petitioners. 

Voted,  That  the  Rev'd  Mefs^^  Ives,  Marsh  &  P.  Perry  be  a 
Committee  for  the  purpose  of  accommodating  matters  with  the 
Ep\  Congregation  at  Woodbury  &  reconciling  them  to  a  union 
with  the  Protest*.  Episcopal  Church. 

M^ Griswold  admitted  (after  due  examination)  as  a  Can- 
didate for  Holy  Orders. 

Voted,  That  the  Secretary  write  to  the  Rev'd  David  Perry,  & 
inform  him,  that,  if  he  does  not  attend  the  next  Convocation,  he 
must  expect  to  fall  under  the  Cenfure  of  the  Church. 
Adjourned  without  day 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Connecticut, 
holden  at  the  Rev'd  A'F.  Ives'  in  Cheshire  on  the  12*^.  of  Novem"^. 
1794— 

Prefent 

The  Rt  Rev'd  Bishop  Seabury 

Rev'd  Doct'^^  Mansfield  The  Rev'd  Mef".  Todd 

Hubbard  Prindle 

Jarvis  Marsh 

Rev'd  Mefs''^  Bowden  Ogilvie 

Shelton  Hart 

Baldwin  E.  Blakelee 

P.  Perry  S.  Blakelee 

Ives  T-.  i  Belden 

^  Deacons  ■{  ^    , 

Brunson  (  Seabury 

Prayers  read  by  the  Rev'd  M^  Shelton. 

A  fermon  preached  by  the  Rt.  Rev'd  the  Bishop. 

Voted,  That  we  will  pay  our  equal  proportion  of  the  expence 


—47— 

that  may  accrue  for  the  fupport  of  a  fon  of  the  Rev'd  M^  Bost- 
wick  deceased,  at  the  Academy  in  Stratford,  till  the  month  of 
June  1795.— 

On  application  of  the  Churches  of  Barrington,  Salisbury, 
Canaan,  &  Sandersfield  to  this  Convocation,  that  M^  Smith  Miles 
might  be  admitted  into  Holy  Orders — 

Voted,  That,  Whereas  M^  Smith  Miles  has  by  intense  appli- 
cation to  ftudy,  induced  upon  himfelf  a  debilitated  ftate  of  body, 
which  has,  at  times,  been  accompanied  with  fome  derangement 
of  mind, 

The  Clergy  of  the  Church  in  Connecticut,  therefore,  do  not 
think  that  it  would  be  a  prudent  meafure  at  prefent,  to  recom- 
mend him  to  the  Bishop  for  Holy  Orders : — But  choose  to  defer 
his  recommendation  till  his  health  fhall  appear  to  be  fufficiently 
confirmed  to  render  him  capable  of  performing  the  laborious 
duties  of  a  Clergyman. 

Voted,  That  the  Rt.  Rev'd  the  Bishop  be  requested  to  admon- 
ish the  Rev'd  David  Perry  of  Ridgfield  for  his  neglect  in  not 
attending  the  ftated  Convocations  &  annual  Conventions.  And 
that  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  write  to  the  Episcopal  Parishes 
of  Ridgfield,  Danbury,  &  Reading  acquainting  them  with  the 
fame,  &  informing  them,  that  unlefs  the  f.d  Rev'd  David  Perry 
does  attend  the  next  annual  Convention  to  be  holden  at  Strat- 
ford the  first  Wednesday  in  June  next,  at  10.  "clock  A.  M.  he 
will  be  fuspended  from  his  clerical  office,  on  account  of  his 
contumacy. — 

Agreably  to  this  Vote,  the  Rt.  Rev'd  the  Bishop  fent  to  the 
Rev'd  David  Perry  a  Letter  of  admonition, — of  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  a  true  copy : — 

Cheshire  Nov^  14,  1794. 
Rev'd  Sir, 

In  compliance  with  a  request  of  the  Clergy  afsembled  in 
Convocation  at  this  place,  &  in  purfuance  of  my  own  duty,  I  am 
to  admonish  you  of  your  neglect  in  attending  the  meetings  of 
your  brethren,  &  on  account  of  the  apparent  contempt  you  have 
thereby  thrown  on  them,  &  on  your  Bishop,  especially  as  you 
have  been  frequently  put  in  mind  of  your  duty  in  this  respect, 
by  their  Secretary,  at  their  particular  instance.  They  wish  to 
enquire  of  you  concerning  feveral  reports  which  are  circulating 


-48- 

in  the  Country  to  your  disadvantage  as  a  Clergyman ;  and 
unless  you  do  attend  on  their  next  meeting  according  to  the 
notification  of  their  Secretary,  a  fuspension  from  your  Clerical 
Office  will  be  ifsued  against  you. 

I  am,  Rev'd  Sir,  your  humble  Serv*. 

S.  Bp.  Connect.  &  Rho.  Ifl.— 
The  Rev'd  D.  Perry. 


Adjourned  v^ithout  Day 


[1795] 


At  a  Convocation  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Connecticut 
holden  in  Stratford  June  3"^.  1795. 


Prefent— 

The  Rt.  Rev. 

Bishop 

Seabury ; 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Mansfield. 

Rev. 

Mefs^^  Clarke,  Provid. 

Rev.  Mefs'^^  Hubbard 

Marsh 

Tyler 

Ogilvie 

Bowden 

Hart 

Shelton 

D.  Perry 

Baldwin 

E.  Blakslee 

Perry 

S.  Blakslee 

Ives 

Butler,  Deac^. 

Brunson 

Seabury,  Deac" 

Prindle 

Prayers  read  by  Mr.  Butler. 

Mr.  Amos  Purdee,  after  examination  (by  the  Rev.  Mefs'■^ 
Shelton  &  Brunson)  was  admitted  as  a  Candidate  for  Holy 
Orders. — 

Voted,  To  recommend  Mr.  Smith  Miles,  Mr.  Caleb  Childs,  & 
Mr.  Viets  Griswold,  to  the  Bishop,  for  the  order  of  Deacons.^^ 

Whereas  the  Rev.  David  Perry  has  requested  of  the  Bishop 
&  his  Clergy  in  Convocation,  liberty  to  resign  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  parishes  of  Ridgfield,  Reading,  &  Danbury,  as 
well  as  to  relinquish  totally  the  exercise  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
Function — therefore — 

Voted,  That  his  request  be  granted,  &  the  resignation  of  his 
Letters  of  Orders  be  accepted. 

'^  Note  XVI. 


—49— 

Mr.  D.  Perry  was  furnished  with  a  Copy  of  this  vote. 
Voted,  That  the  Rev.  Mefs".  Ogilvie,  Shelton,  &  Perry  be  a 
Committee,  to  make  enquiry  into  the  state  of  the  parishes  of 
Ridgfield,  Reading  &  Danbury,  in  fuch  way  &  manner,  &  at 
such  time  and  place,  as  they  (the  s^.  Committee)  shall  judge 
proper  &  expedient. — 
Adjourned  without  Day. — 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Connecticut, 
holden  at  Bristol,  Octb"".  21^*.  &  at  Harwington  Ocf.  22 — 1795. 

Present : 


The  Rt.  Rev. 

Dr. 

Seabury 

: — 

The  Rev.  Mefs'^  Hubbard 

Rev. 

Mefs^^ 

,  E.  Blakslee 

Shelton 

S.  Blakslee 

Baldwin 

Hart 

Perry 

Butler 

Ives 

Griswold 

Prindle 
Todd 

„              (  Green 
Deacons  K  -.^., 
(  Miles 

Brunson 

A  new  Church  (by  the  namx  of  St.  Matthew's  Church)  was 
consecrated,  at  Bristol,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Seabury : — Who  also 
preached  an  excellent  Sermon  on  the  occafion. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Griswold  was  admitted  to  the  holy  order  of 
Priest, 

M^  Jonathan  Bartlet,  upon  the  report  of  the  standing  Com- 
mittee, was  admitted  as  a  Candidate  for  holy  Orders; — U^^but 
soon  changed  his  mind. 

Adjourned  to  meet  at  Harwington  at  11.  °cl.  to  morrow 
morning. — 

Thursday  morning  met  as  p^  adjournment.  A  New  Church 
(by  the  name  of  St.  Mark's  Ch^.)  was  consecrated  by  the  Bishop 
at  Harwington, — who  also  preached  the  Consecration  Sermon. — 

After  divine  Service  met  at  M',  Bradley's 

Voted,  That  the  Bishop  be  requested  to  compose  two  Collects, 
for  the  use  of  the  Clergy  in  this  State,  one  to  be  used  at  the 
sitting  of  the  Gen\  Afsembly ; — &  the  other  to  be  used  at  the 
Courts,  &  that  they  be  printed. — ^^ 

"  Note  XVII. 
4 


— 50- 

Voted,  That  we  will  pay  the  expence  of  Harry  Bostwic's 
schooling  till  next  June. — &  that  information  shall  be  given  to 
his  friends,  that  his  fupport  will  probably  not  be  continued, 
unlefs  some  aid  be  afforded  by  the  Laity. — 

Voted,  That  the  Bishop  be  requested  to  recommend  to  the  fev- 
eral  Congregations  in  his  Diocese,  the  making  collections  for  the 
fupport  of  Harry  Bostwick  at  the  Academy. — 

Adjourned  without  Day 


[1796] 

At  a  Convention  of  the  Clergy  of  the  P.  E.  Church  in  Con- 
necticut, at  Rev.  Mr.  Hubbard's  N.  Haven  Oct'.  20 — 1796 — 

Prefent. 


Rev.  Dr.  Mansfield 

Rev  Mefs'^ 

Brunson 

Rev  Mefs'^  Hubbard 

Ives 

Jarvis 

E. 

Blakflee 

Tyler 

Todd 

Bowden 

Butler 

Shelton 

Seabury 

Baldwin 

Griswold 

Perry 

Green 

Prindle 

Smith,  N. 

Port 

After  divine  Service  performed  in  the  Church  by  the  Rev,  Mr. 
Baldwin. — 

Refolved,  That  the  Rev.  Mr  Butler  be  requested  to  inform  the 
friends  of  Harry  Bostwick,  that  if  f.d  Bostwick  chooses  not  to 
pursue  the  Study  of  Divinity,  we  can  do  nothing  further  towards 
defraying  the  expence  of  his  education. 

Refolved,  That  a  Letter  of  thanks  be  written  to  the  Bishop  of 
Landafif,  for  his  excellent  Apology  for  the  Bible,  (in  answer  to 
Thom^  Paine's  Age  of  Reason)  signed  by  the  President  & 
counterfigned  by  the  Secretary  in  behalf  of  this  Convention. — 

Refolved,  That  Rev.  Mr.  Baldwin  be  requested  to  draw  up  an 
addrefs  agreeably  to  the  foregoing  resolve. — 

Refolved,  That  each  Clergyman  shall  propose  to  his  parish,  or 
parishes,  the  making  of  a  Collection,  fome  time  previous  to  the 
next  annual  Convention,  for  defraying  the  expense  of  the 
Bishop  Elect  in  obtaining  Consecration. 


—Si- 
Resolved,  That  Rev.  Mr.  Bowden  (Bishop  Elect)  be  reqv:ested 
to  folicit  aid  of  fuch  pious  &  charitable  perfons,  or  focieties,  as 
it  may  be  convenient  for  him  to  make  application  to,  in  his  Tour 
to  Philadelphia,  for  the  encouragement,  fupport,  &  benefit  of  the 
Episcopal  Academy  in  Connecticut. 

Refolved,  That  the  standing  Committee  of  this  Church  be 
requested  to  write  a  letter  in  answer  to  the  Letter  which  they 
received  from  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  Church  in  Rhode 
Island. — 

Refolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Convention,  it  is  expe- 
dient that  a  Presbyter  of  this  Church  should  attend  the  Bishop 
Elect  to  Philadelphia,  when  he  shall  go  for  Consecration. 

Voted,  That  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baldwin  be  requested  to  attend  the 
Bishop  elect  agreeably  to  the  preceding  Refolve : — And  that  an 
attempt  be  made  to  make  provision  for  defraying  his  expences, 
in  the  manner  before  provided  for  defraying  the  expence  of  the 
Bp.  Elect.— 

Adjourned  to  the  next  annual  Convent",  of  the  Clerical  & 
Lay  Delegates — 

[1797] 

At  a  Convention  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  in  Connecticut, 
holden  at  Derby  on  the  i^\  Wednesday  of  June  1797 

Prefent. — 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Manfield,  President. 
Rev.  Mr.  Hubbard  Rev  Mefs'^  Prindle 

Rev.  Dr.  Bowden  Ives 

Rev.  Dr.  Smith  Brunson 

Rev.  Mefs'^^  Shelton  Marsh 

Baldwin  E.  Blakslee 

Perry  S.  Blakslee 

Butler 
Seabury 
Green 
Miles 

Rev.  Mr.  Butler  read  prayers. 
Rev.  Mr.  Marsh  preached. 

Refolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  write  to  the  Vestry 
of  the  Church  in  Salisbury,  &  desire  them  to  inform  the  Stand- 


—52— 

ing  Committee  of  this  Church,  as  to  the  truth  of  a  report  which 
has  been  circulated,  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Child  has  advanced  fen- 
timents  contrary  to  the  doctrines  of  our  Church. — 

Refolved,  That  the  Rev.  Mr.  Marsh  be  requested  to  answer  a 
Petition  from  a  Church  in  Washington  respecting  certain  Lands, 
which  are  claimed  by  faid  Church,  &  also  by  the  Church  in 
Litchfield. — 

Refolved,  That,  if  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jarvis,  the  Bishop  Elect, 
should  go  to  Philadelphia  for  Consecration,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bald- 
win be  requested  to  attend  him: — And  that  it  be  recommended 
to  the  feveral  Churches  in  the  State  to  have  collections  for 
defraying  the  expences  of  both,  by  the  i^*.  Sunday  in  Aug*,  next, 
&  that  the  money  be  fent  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hubbard  by  the  3*^.  of 
s*^.  month. 

Refolved,  That  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  be  requested  to  write  to 
the  Convention  of  the  Church  in  Rhode-Island,  &  inform  them, 
that  we  shall  be  happy  to  continue  in  union  with  them,  under 
the  episcopal  care  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jarvis,  (our  Bishop  elect)  as 
before  under  Bishop  Seabury. 

Refolved,  That  the  Rev.  Mefs'^^  Baldwin,  Shelton  &  Smith  be 
the  ftanding  Committee  for  the  year  enfuing. 
Adjourned  fine  die. 

[1798] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop  &  Presbyters  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  Connecticut*  at  the  house  of  M'  Thaddeus 
Clark  at  Oyster  River  on  Wednesday  the  2,2.^  day  of  August 
1798.— ^« 

Prefent 
Right  Rev*^  Abraham  Jarvis,  Bishop. 
Doctor  Jeremiah  Leaming 
Doctor  Richard  Mansfield 
Doctor  John  Bowden 
Mefs  Hubbard 
Baldwin 
Shelton 
Ives 

Prindle. — 
'8  Note  xvni. 


—53— 

M'  Baldwin  was  chosen  Secretary — 

Mefs  Smith,  Shelton  &  Baldwin  were  appointed  a  Committee 
to  frame  Articles  of  Religion  to  be  laid  before  the  next  State 
Convention — 

M"^  Bethel  Judd  was  recommended  to  the  Bishop  for  Deacon's 
Orders. — 

W  Jasper  D  Jones  was  admitted  a  Candidate  for  holy 
Orders — 

Reverd  M^  Baldwin  was  requested  to  address  the  President 
of  the  United  States  in  behalf  of  this  Convocation — ^^ 

Divine  Service  was  attended  at  the  Church  in  West  Haven — 
Rev^  M""  Baldwin  read  prayers.  The  Bishop  delivered  a  Ser- 
mon &  attended  Confirmation. — 

Convocation  Adjourn'd  Sine  Die 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 

[1799] 

At  a   Convocation   of   the   Episcopal   Clergy   of   the   State   of 
Connecticut  holden  at  Derby  on  the  20*^.  Nov.  1799— 


D'- 


Present 

The  R^ 

Rev^ 

Bishop  Jarvis, 

, — 

Bowden 

M'. 

Prindle 

Manffield 

Todd 

Hubbard 

Hart 

Smith 

Griswold 

Shelton 

Butler 

Baldwin 

Bourhanse 

Ives 

White 

Brunson 

Judd— 

M-- 


Rev*^.  D^  Hubbard  read  prayers,  & 

R^  Rev*^.  the  Bishop  preached. 

Voted — that  the  thanks  of  this  Convocation  be  presented  to 
the  Bishop  for  his  Sermon  this  day  delivered  at  the  Confecration 
of  the  new  Church,  &  that  the  Secretary  be  defired  to  deliver  the 
same. 

Voted— that  the  Bishop  with  D^  Bowden,  Mefs".  Ives,  Hub- 
bard &  Brunson  be  a  Committee  for  the  purpose  of  framing  a 

'5  Note  XIX. 


—54— 

Canon  to  regulate  Clerical  attendance  upon  State  Conventions 
&  Convocations ; — and  also  to  addrefs  certain  clergymen  of  this 
Diocese  upon  the  Subject  of  their  neglect  of  those  clerical 
meetings. 

R"*.  M^  Hart  prefented  a  Vote  pafsed  by  the  Episcopal 
churches  of  Wethersfield  &  Worthington,  adopting  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  Prot.  Epifc.  Ch.  in  this  Diocese. 

The  Secretary  prefented  an  Office  of  Induction  for  the  con- 
fideration  of  this  houfe. 

The  Convocation  relolved  itself  into  a  Committee  of  the  whole, 
D^  Bowden  in  the  chair,  in  order  to  examine  the  proposed  Office, 
paragraph  by  paragraph. 

The  Chairman  of  the  Committee  reported  to  the  President  of 
Convocation,  that  the  Committee  approved  of  the  proposed 
Office. 

Voted — That  the  proposed  Office  of  Induction  be  adopted  by 
this  houfe  &  that  the  thanks  of  the  same  be  prefented  to  D"".  Smith 
for  the  same — that  it  be  printed  without  delay,  &  that  the  Bishop 
be  defired  to  transmit  a  Copy  of  the  same  to  the  several 
Bishops  in  the  U.  S.  &  to  the  Standing  Committees  of  those 
States,  in  which  there  are  no  Bishops.-'' 

Voted — That  Mefs".  Shelton  and  Smith  be  Auditors  to  exam- 
ine &  pafs  M''.  Baldwin's  Acco".  of  Conventional  monies. — 

Adjourned  fine  die — 

William  Smith  Sec^ 


[Two  leaves  have  been  left  blank  here.     There  was  a  meeting 
of  the  Clergy  at  New  London,  October  15,  1800.] 


[1801] 

At  a  Meeting  of  the  Bishop  &  Clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Con- 
necticutt  in  Convocation  holden  at  (New  Town)  the  2^.  day  of 
June  I 80 I 

"  Note  XX. 


—55— 

Present 
Right  Rev**.  Abraham  Jarvis,  Bishop  of  Con. 
Rev-*.  Mefs  Mansfield  DD 
Bowden  DD 
Deacons  Hubbard 

Judd  Shelton 

Burges  Baldwin 

Thatcher  Prindle 

Jones  Brown  son 

Rogers  Marsh 

Butler 
Griswold 
Burhans 

Mr.  Baldwin  was  appointed  Secretary. 

M"".  Camp  &  M''.  Basfield  petitioned  to  be  admitted  Candidates, 
and  were  negatived. — 

Capt  Chittenden  presented  a  Vote  passed  by  the  Episcopal 
Congregation  in  Salisbury,  adopting  the  constitution  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  this  Diocese. — 

The  report  of  the  Standing  Committee  upon  the  complaint 
exhibited  to  them  against  Deacon  Caleb  Childs,  was  agreed  to 
by  this  Convocation  and  the  Bishop  was  requested  to  publish 
his  sentence  of  degradation  in  such  way  &  manner  as  he  shall 
judge  proper. — 

Adjourned  Sine  Die 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop  &  Clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Connec- 
ticutt,  in  Convocation  holeden  at  the  City  of  Hartford  the  lo*^. 
day  of  Nov'.  1801. — 

Present 


Ri 

ght.  Rey^ 

Bishop  Jarvis,  D.D. 

Doctor 

Bowden 

Fogg 

Tyler 

Deacons 

Shelton 

Jones 

Baldwin 

Prindle 

Seabury 

-56- 

Doctor  Marsh 
Burhans 
Griswold 
Reyner 
Butler 
Warner 
Rogers 

M'.  Baldwin  was  elected  Secretary. — 

The  following  order  of  proceedings  was  agree'd  upon  for  to 
morrow. —  (viz) 

A  procefsion  from  M'  Reyner's  to  the  Church. 

Consecration  Service  by  the  Bishop. 

Morning  Service  by  M'  Seabury 

Deed  of  Consecration  by  M'  Burhans 

Induction  Service  by  M'  Shelton 

Sermon — by  Mr  Baldwin 

Convocation  adjourn'd  untill  9  OClock  to  morrow 

Opened  agreeable  to  adjournment — when  a  procefsion  was 
made  agreeable  to  the  order  proposed  last  evening — from  the 
house  of  M'  Reyner  to  the  Church — when  the  office  of  Conse- 
cration &  Induction  was  performed — ^^  After  Dinner  the  Con- 
vocation met  at  M""  Reyner's  at  6  OClock  P.  M. — 

On  motion,  Voted  that  the  Bishop  present  the  thanks  of  Con- 
vocation to  Mr.  Baldwin  for  his  Sermon  delivered  before  them 
this  day. — 

Voted,  That  the  Rev*^.  M"^  Hubbard  be  requested  to  call  on 
Deacon  Bradley,  &  demand  his  Letters  of  Orders. — 

Voted  that  M""  Whitlock  be  requested  to  call  on  Deacon  Bel- 
den,  &  enquire  of  him  whether  he  intends  to  relinquish  his 
Clerical  Office  &  if  he  intends  to  do  so,  demand  his  Letters  of 
Orders — and  if  he  does  not  intend  to  give  up  his  Letters,  that 
M"^  Whitlock  inform  him  of  the  Cannon  of  degradation,  pafsed 
by  the  last  General  Convention. — 

Resolved — That  Mefs  Tyler,  Seabury,  &  Rogers  be  a  Com- 
mittee to  call  on  M"^  Solomon  Blakesley  &  enquire  of  him  the 
reasons  for  his  not  attending  the  State  Conventions  &  Convo- 
cations.— 

Adjournd  Sine  Die 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary. 
"  Note  XXI. 


—57— 

[The  following,  on  a  slip  of  paper,  is  pinned  into  the  book : 
On  motion 

Resolved,  that  the  Rev*^.  Ammi  Rogers  produce  Testi- 
monials from  the  Brethren  in  the  State  of  New  York,  previous 
to  his  taking  a  seat  in  the  Convocation. 

Ordered,  that  the  above  be  kept  on  file,  but  not  entered 
on  the  Journals. — ] 


[1802] 

At  a  Meeting  of  the  Bishop  &  Clergy  in  Convocation  holden 
at  Cheshire  at  the  house  of  the  Rev"^.  Reuben  Ives  April  12'^'^. 
1802 

Prefent. — 

Bishop  Jarvis 

Doctor  Mansfield  Deacons 

Hubbard  Jones 

Shelton  Whitlock 

Baldwin  Burges 

Ives  Kilbourn 

Prindle  Perry. — 

Brownson 
Todd 
Blakesley 
Griswold 
E.  Rogers 
Warner 
Rayner 

Mr.  Baldwin  was  chosen  Secretary 

A  petition  from  Rev*^  Evan  Rogers  was  presented  to  the  Con- 
vocation, to  be  removed  from  his  Parish  at  Hebron,  which  was 
granted.     Yeas  15 — Nays  3 — 

Adjourned  Sine  Die 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters,  &  Deacons  of  the 
Diocese  of  Connecticutt  holden  at  the  house  of  the  Rev^. 
Ambrose  Tood  in  Huntington  on  Wednesday  the  2^.  day  of 
June  1802 


-58- 

Prefent 

Bishop  Jarvis 
Doctor  Mansfield 
Doctor  Smith 

Shelton 

Baldwin 

Prindle 

Brownson  Deacons 

Todd  Brownson 

Marsh 

Griswold 

Reyner 

Burges 

Whitlock 

M"^  Baldwin  was  chosen  Secretary, — 

The  Bishop  presented  the  following  fentence  of  degradation 
which  was  agreed  to  by  the  Convocation,  directed  to  be  read 
piiblickly  in  the  Churches  of  Stamford,  Norwalk  &  Canaan,  & 
orderd  to  be  recorded  by  the  Secretary — 

Whereas  Caleb  Childs  Deacon,  hath  been  accused  of  holding 
Errors  in  Faith  &  of  being  guilty  of  immoralities  &  vices  injur- 
ious to  Christianity  &  disgraceful  to  the  Character  of  a  Clergy- 
man.— And  whereas  a  Committee  hath  been  appointed  to  hear 
and  consider  the  truth  &  merits  of  the  Facts,  exhibited  in  charge 
against  him,  whose  fummons  for  that  purpose  he  utterly  disre- 
garded, &  treated  the  whole  ecclesiastical  Authority  with  pub- 
lick  and  avowed  contempt — And  whereas  the  Committee  afore- 
said, after  a  fair  and  full  examination,  have  reported,  that  the 
crimes  and  misdemeanors  charged  upon  him,  were  clearly  & 
fully  proved.  From  all  which  it  appears  that  he  hath  rendered 
himself  unworthy  of  the  office  of  a  Deacon. — Therefore  by  these 
presents,  be  it  known  unto  all  whom  it  may  concern,  that  the 
s"^  Caleb  Childs,  is  degraded  from  the  exercise  of  the  office  of 
a  Deacon,  &  is  hereby  forbidden  to  execute  the  same  in  any 
instance  whatever  in  future — Of  which,  all  Churches  in  the 
Diocese  &  all  the  Ministers  thereof  are  called  upon  to  take 
proper  notice. — Done  in  Convocation  at  Huntington  this  3'*. 
day  of  June  1802,  &  in  the  5*^.  year  of  our  Consecration 

Abraham  Bishop  Conect. — 

Convocation  adjourned  sine  die. 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 


—59— 

[i803] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters,  &  Deacons  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Connecticutt  holden  at  the 
house  of  James  Clark  Esq"",  in  Danbury  on  the  i'*.  day  of  June 

1803.— 

Present 

Right  Rev^.  Bishop  Jarvis  D.D. — 
Rev*^.  Doctor  Mansfield 
Bela  Hubbard 
Philo  Shelton 
Ashbel  Baldwin 
Tillotson  Brownson 
Chauncey  Prindle 
Ambrose  Todd 
Truman  Marsh 
Charles  Seabury 
David  Butler 
Daniel  Burhans 

Visiting  Brethren 

Rev*^  Joseph  Warren 

Rev^  Amos  Pardee 

Deacon  Abraham  Brownson. — 

Rsolved  that  the  Rev'^  M^  Hubbard,  Rev^  M^  Shelton  & 
the  Rev*^.  M"".  Baldwin  be  a  Committee  to  receive  any  informa- 
tion from  M'.  Rogers,  &  the  Lay  Delegates  accompanying  him, 
which  they  may  wish  to  communicate  to  the  Convocation  & 
report  thereupon. — 

Resolved  that  the  Bishop  of  this  Diocese  be  requested  to 
require  of  the  Rev<^  Ammi  Rogers  that  he  produce  Testimonials 
from  the  Bishop  &  standing  Committee  in  the  State  of  New 
York  previous  to  his  being  admitted  a  member  of  this  Convo- 
cation.— " 

Convocation  adjourn'd  untill  8  OClock  to  morrow  morning. — 

Thursday  Morning. — 

On  motion  from  M^  Shelton— Resolved  that  the  Secretary, 
transmit  to  the  Parishes  of  Branford,  Wallingford,  &  East- 
Haven  the  resolve  of  this  Convocation,  respecting  the  Rev**. 
Ammi  Rogers. — 

Convocation  adjourned  Sine  Die. — 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 
22  Note  XXII. 


[i803] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  of  Connecticutt  holden  at  the  house  of  M' 
Steele  in  Chewstown,  Derby  on  the  5*^.  day  of  October  1803 

Present. — 
Right  Rev*^  Bishop  Jarvis 
Rev"^  Doctor  Mansfield 
Rev"^  Bela  Hubbard 
Rev*^  Doctor  Smith 
Rev"^  Philo  Shelton 
Rev<^  Ashbel  Baldwin 
Rev"^  Chauncey  Prindle 
Rev'^  Tillitson   Brownson 
Rev*^  Reuben  Ives 
Rev"*  Ambrose  Todd 
Rev^.  David  Butler 
Rev**  Solomon  Blakesley 
Rev**.  Daniel  Burhans 
Rev**.  Henry  Whitlock 
Rev**  Alexander  V  Griswold 

Divine  Service  was  attended  in  the  Church 

Mr  Whitlock  read  prayers — M'"  Butler  delivered  a  Sermon — 
After  fervice  the  members  of  the  Convocation  convened  at  the 
house  of  M''  Steele. — 

On  Motion,  Voted  that  the  Bishop  be  requested  to  return 
thanks  to  M''  Butler  for  his  Sermon  delivered  before  the  Con- 
vocation.— 

Voted  that  M''  Samuel  Griswold  be  recommended  to  the 
Bishop  for  holy  Orders. — 

Voted  that  the  Testimonials  presented  by  Joshua  Dudley 
Esq'^^  in  behalf  of  the  Rev**.  Ammi  Rogers,  are  not  (in  the 
opinion  of  this  Convocation),  agreeable  to  the  requirements, 
made  in  their  resolve  pafsed  at  Danbury. 

Voted  the  thanks  of  this  Convocation  to  President,  &  Secre- 
tary for  their  attendance  &  Services. 

Convocation  Adjourned  Sine.  Die. 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary. — 


— 6i— 

[1804] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  in  Convocation  at  the  house  of  the  Rev*^ 
Truman  Marsh  in  Litchfield  on  the  6*^.  day  of  June  1804 — 

Present 
Right  Rev*^  Bishop  Jarvis  D  D 
Rev*^.  Bela  Hubbard 

John  Tyler 

William  Smith  D  D  Visiting  Brethren 

Philo  Shelton  Rev"^  Amos  Pardee 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Dea"^  Samuel  Griswold 

Chauncey  Prindle 

Reuben  Ives 

Tillotson  Brownson 

Charles  Seabury 

David  Butler 

Truman  Marsh 

Menzies  Rayner 

Daniel  Burhans 

Henry  Whitlock 

Nathan  B  Burgis 
Deacon  Clemment  Meriam 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  7  O Clock  to  morrow  morn- 
ing.— 

Thursday  7  OClock  A.  M.  Convocation  opened  agreeable  to 
adjournment. 

Rev*^  Ashbel  Baldwin  chosen  Secretary. — 
On  motion 

Voted  that  Mefs  Baldwin,  Burhans  Rayner,  Smith,  &  Ives  be 
a  committee  to  digest  some  plan  for  the  future  publication  of 
the  Churchman's  Magazine,  &  report  to  this  Convocation. — ^^ 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  P  M. — 

Thursday  8  o'clock  P.  M.— 
Convocation  opened  agreeable  to  adjourn*. 
The  Committee  appointed  to  digest  a  plan  for  publishing  the 
Magazine,  reported,  that  in  their  opinion,  it  would  be  advisable 
*^  Note  XXIII. 


—62— 

for  the  Convocation  to  appoint  a  permanent  Committee,  to  meet 
as  often  as  it  shall  be  necessary  at  Cheshire  &  New  Haven,  to 
superintend  the  publishing  the  Churchman's  Ma[ga]zine,  which 
Committee  shall  be  entitled  to  a  reasonable  compensation  for 
their  services,  when  the  profits  arising  from  the  publication  will 
admit  of  it. — The  above  report  was  accepted  by  the  Convocation 
&  Mefs  Smith  Ives,  Baldwin,  Meriam,  Shelton,  Brownson 
Burhans  &  Rayner  were  appointed  the  Committee — 

On  Motion,  Resolved  unanimously,  that  the  Bishop,  be  re- 
quested to  degrade  Deacon  Bradley  from  the  office  of  Deacon, — 

On  Motion,  Resolved  unanimously,  that  the  Bishop  be  re- 
quested to  suspend  the  Rev''  Ammi  Rogers  from  the  use  of  the 
Churches  in  this  Diocese. — 

Convocation  voted  thanks  to  the  President  &  Secretary  for 
their  attendance  &  fervices 

Convocation  Adjourned  fine  die. 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop  &  Presbyters  of  the  Protestant 
Epis.  Church  of  Connecticut  in  Convocation  at  the  house  of 
the  Rev^.  Doctor  William  Smith  in  Cheshire  on  the  3*^.  day  of 
October  1804 

Present. 
Right  Rev*^  Bishop  Jarvis 

Rev*^.  Bela  Hubbard  D.  D. 
Rev''.  William  Smith  D.  D. 
Rev^.  Philo  Shelton 
Rev"^.  Ashbel  Baldwin 
Rev*^.  Reuben  Ives 
Visiting  Brethre[n]  Rev*^.  Chauncy  Prindle 

Rev*^.  Bethuel  Chittenden      Rev''.  Tillotson  Brownson 
Rev**.  Calvin  White.  Rev".  Ambrose  Todd 

Rev*^.  Daniel  Burhans 
Rev''.  Menzies  Rayner 

Rev"  A  Baldwin  was  chosen  Secretary. — 

A  procefsion  was  formed  by  the  Clergy  &  the  Students  of  the 
Academy,  &  moved  from  the  Academy  to  the  Episcopal  Church, 
where  Divine  Service  was  attended. — Rev*^  M'.  Rayner  read 


-63- 

Prayers,  &  the  Rev^.  M'  Burhans  delivered  a  Sermon  before 
the  Convocation. — 

Met  at  the  house  of  Doctor  Smith  and  adjourned  untill  6 
OClock  P.  M.— 

6  OClock  P.  M.— 

Met  agreeable  to  adjournment. — 

Mefs  Baldwin,  Ives,  Brownson,  Burhans,  Shelton,  Rayner, 
&  Burgis,  were  appointed  as  Committee  to  negotiate  with  a 
Printer  to  publish  the  Churchman's  Magazine  the  ensuing  Year 
&  also  to  contract  with  an  Editor  for  the  same,  &  it  is  to  be 
understood  that  any  five  of  the  above  named  Persons  may  form 
a  quorum  for  transacting  the  businefs. 

Bishop  Jarvis  presented  a  sentence  of  degradation  against  the 
Rev^  Ammi  Rogers  which  was  unanimously  approved  of,  and 
ordered  the  same  to  be  published  in  usual  Form. — ^* 

Voted  the  thanks  of  Convocation  to  the  President  &  Secretary 
for  their  attendance  &  fervices. — 

Convocation  adjourned  fine  die 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 

By  the  Bishop  of  Connecticutt 
The  Rev*^.  Ammi  Rogers,  now  residing  in  the  Diocese  hath  for 
a  long  time  conducted  himself  in  such  a  way  as  is  contrary  to 
the  rules  of  the  Church,  &  disgraceful  to  his  Ojffice,  therefore,  by 
the  advice,  &  at  the  desire  of  the  Clergy  of  Connecticut,  We 
the  Bishop,  do  by  these  presents  forbid,  &  direct  the  Clergy  of 
this  Diocese  to  forbid  the  s^.  Rogers  in  future  to  officiate  in  their 
Churches  &  within  their  Parishes,  &  in  all  vacant  Parishes  the 
Wardens  are  desired  to  do  the  same,  an[d]  the  Congregations 
are  exhorted  not  to  give  countenance  to  a  Man  whose  disorderly 
&  refractory  conduct  is  subversive  of  the  harmony  &  peace  of 
the  Church. — 

Abraham,  Bishop  of  Conct. 
New  Haven,  June  ii*^^.  1804 
A  true  Coppy  of  the  Bishops  Circular 


2^  Note  XXIV. 


Ashbel  Baldwin 

Secretary  of  Convocation 


— 64 — 

[i805] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters,  and  Deacon  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  Connecticutt  in  Convocation,  holden  at  the 
house  of  the  Rev*^.  Clemment  Merriam  in  the  city  of  Middle- 
town  on  the  4*^^.  day  of  June  1805 — 

Present. 
Right  Rev"^  Bishop  Jarvis  D.  D. 

Rev"^  Doctor  Bela  Hubbard 

Rev*^  Doctor  William  Smith 

Rev<^.  Philo  Shelton 

Rev^  Ashbel  Baldwin 

Rev*^  C[h]auncey  Prindle 

Rev*^  Tillotson  Brownson 
Deacons  Rev*^  Reuben  Ives 

Clement  Merriam        Rev*^  Truman  Marsh 
Asa  Cornwall  Rev*^.  Charles  Seabury 

Samuel  Griswold        Rev*^.  Nathan  B  Burgis 

Rev<^  Henry  Whitlock 

Rev*^  Menzies  Rayner 

Rev*^  Ambrose  Todd 
Rev^  Nathan  B.  Burgis 

Rev^.  Daniel  Burhans 

Rev<^  Smith  Miles 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  to  morrow  morning — 
Met  agreeable  to  adjournment. 

Mefs  Deacon  Clement  Merriam 
Deacon  Samuel  Griswold 
Deacon  Hilliar 

were  recommended  to  the  Bishop  for  the  order  of  Priests. — 
Mefs  Duncan 

Barber 
Wheeler 
Searl 
Buckley 

were  recommended  to  the  Bishop  for  the  order  of  Deacons. — 

Voted  Thanks  to  the  President  &  Secretary  for  their  Attend- 
ance &  Services. — 

Convocation  adjourned  Sine.  die. 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 


-65- 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  Connecticutt,  in  Convocation, 
holden  at  the  house  of  the  Widow  Sarah  Munday,  in  Stamford 
on  Tuesday  the  14"'.  day  of  October  1805. — 

Present 

Right  Rev<^.  Bishop  Jarvis.  D.D. 

Rev-^.  Bela  Hubbard.  D.D. 
Rev"^.  Philo  Shelton 
Rev^  Ashbel  Baldwin 
Rev^.  Chauncy  Prindle 
Visiting  Brethren  Rev^  Tillotson  Brownson 

Rev"^  John  H  Hobart      Rev*^.  Ambrose  Todd 
New  York.  Rev^.  Daniel  Burhans 

Rev'^.  Evan  Rogers         Rev*^.  Calvin  White 

Rye.—  Rev^.  Henry  Whitlock 

Deacon  Rufsell  Wheeler 
Deacon  Buckley. 

Rev"^  ]VP  Baldwin  was  elected  Secretary. 

Resolved  that  the  Rev^.  John  H  Hobart  from  New  York,  & 
the  Rev.  Evan  Rogers  from  Rye  be  requested  to  take  their 
seats  in  the  Convocation  as  visiting  Brethren. — 

Resolved  that  Notification  be  given  to  Mefs  Cary  Leeds, 
Alexander  Bishop,  David  Marsh,  David  Waterbury,  Isaac 
Hawley,  &  others  in  Stamford,  who  are  disfatisfied  with  the 
ecclesiastical  proceedings  of  this  Diocese,  in  regard  to  M"^  Ammi 
Rogers,  that  the  Convocation  are  now  in  fefsion,  &  that  if  they 
are  desirous  of  having  any  interview  with  the  Convocation, 
they  will  have  an  opportunity  of  being  heard  at  10  OClock 
A.  M.  to  morrow  at  the  place  where  the  Convocation  is  now  in 
Session,  or  such  other  place  as  shall  be  agree'd  upon. — 

Resolved  that  Notification  be  given  to  M""  Cary  Leeds,  that 
the  Convocation  are  willing  to  enter  into  a  conference  with  him, 
on  the  subject  of  the  ecclesiastical  proceeding  of  this  Diocese, 
in  regard  to  M"^  Am[m]i  Rogers  at  10  OClock,  A.  M.  to 
morrow  at  the  place  of  the  present  fefsion,  or  any  other  place 
that  may  be  agreed  upon. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  A.  M.  to  morrow. — 
5 


—66— 

Wednesday  8  OClock  A.  M. 

Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  adjournment. — 
Upon  a  Communication  received  from  M'.  Cary  Leeds. — 
Mefs  Rev*^  Ambrose  Todd  &  Daniel  Burhans  were  appointed  a 
Committee,  to  inform  M'.  Cary  Leeds  that  the  Convocation  are 
now  ready  to  enter  into  a  conference  with  him,  respecting  the 
ecclesiastical  proceedings  of  this  State,  in  regard  to  M""  Ammi 
Rogers. — 

By  request  from  the  Convocation  the  Bishop  transmitted  to 
M'  Cary  Leeds  &  others  the  following  requisition  (viz)  — 

Mefs  Cary  Leeds,  Isaac  Holly,  Alexander  Bishop  &c. 

Gentlemen — "As  I  am  informed  that  you  have  the  Key 
"of  St  John's  Church  in  your  keeping,  &  on  the  present  occa- 
"sion,  having  need  of  the  use  of  the  Church,  for  the  convenience 
"of  the  Convocation  now  afsembled  in  this  Town,  it  is  requested 
"that  you  send  the  key  of  s"^.  Church  to  the  Bishop  for  the  above 
"purpose. — Your  compliance  in  this  particular  will  be  in  strict 
"conformity  to  ecclesiastical  duty. — 

Abraham. — Bishop — Connecticutt. 

Stamford  October  i6*^.  1805. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  have  a  conference  with  M' 
Cary  Leeds  &  others,  made  the  following  report — (viz)  That 
they  had  attended  to  the  subject  of  their  appointment,  &  that 
M'  Leeds  informed  them  that  he  could  have  no  personal  con- 
ference with  the  Convocation: — 

The  following  Communication  was  made  by  the  Bishop,  to 
M'.  Ammi  Rogers  by  the  request  of  the  Convocation. — 

Stamford  Oct'.  16*^.  1805. 
Sir— 

I  have  this  morning  requested  Mefs  Cary  Leeds,  Isaac 
Hawley,  &  Alexander  Bishop  to  deliver  me  the  Key's  of  St 
John's  Church  in  Stamford  for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  Con- 
vocation in  s*^.  Church — to  which  I  have  received  for  answer, 
that  the  s^.  keys  are  exclusively  subject  to  your  controul — ^As 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut,  I  now  direct  you  to 
deliver  me  the  Keys  of  said  Church. 

Abraham — Bishop — Connecticut. 


-67- 

Resolved — That  M''.  Gary  Leeds  be  informed  that  they  have 
just  received  a  communication  from  him ;  &  acquaint  him  that 
they  have  an  important  communication  to  make  him  upon  the 
subject  of  his  last  letter,  which  they  v^ill  be  ready  to  give  him 
at  7  OClock  this  Evening. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  6  OClock  P.  M. 

6  OClock  P.  M. 

Convocation  Met  agreeable  to  adjournment. 

Mefs  Rev<^.  Philo  Shelton,  Rev"^.  Daniel  Burhans  &  Rev<^. 
Tillotson  Brownson  were  appointed  a  Committee  to  draft  an 
answer  to  the  last  communication  from  Cary  Leeds  to  this 
Convocation. — 

The  Committee  appointed  to  draft  an  answer  to  the  last 
communication  from  Cary  Leeds — made  the  following  report, 
which  was  unanimously  approved  of,  ordered  to  be  engrofsed 
upon  the  journals  of  the  Convocation,  &  a  coppy  thereof  to  be 
immediately  sent  to  M"".  Cary  Leeds,  which  was  accordingly 
done. 

To  Carey  Leeds,  Alexander  Bishop  &  others  who  are  disfat- 
isfied  with  the  ecclesiastical  proceedings  of  the  Bishop  &  Clergy 
of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut  in  regard  to  M^  Ammi  Rogers. — 

The  Bishop  &  Clergy  of  the  diocese  of  Connecticut  sincerely 
desirous,  to  promote  the  peace  &  preserve  the  authority  of  the 
church  have  met  at  Stamford  in  the  hope  that  by  a  friendly 
conference  with  you,  it  would  be  in  their  power  to  satisfy  you 
of  the  propriety  and  duty  of  submitting  to  the  sentence  pro- 
nounced upon  M'  Ammi  Rogers. — They  regret  that  your  refusal 
to  engage  in  a  personal  conference  has  prevented  that  full,  & 
fair  discufsion  of  the  subject,  which  in  every  point  of  view  was 
so  desirable. — By  persons  who  profess  themselves  Churchmen,  in 
principles  &  in  practice ;  they  still  cherish  the  hope  that  the  fol- 
lowing statement  of  facts  from  the  authority  of  the  church  will 
be  duly  regarded. — It  appears  from  page  17  of  the  journals  of 
the  house  of  Bishops  a  copy  of  which  we  herewith  transmit  to 
you ;  that  on  Friday  Sep"^.  14  1804 — "a.  memorial  was  laid  on  the 
table  from  the  Rev  Ammi  Rogers,  accompanied  with  sundry  doc- 
ument, and  a  letter  requesting  that  a  day  may  be  appointed  for 
the  consideration  of  the  points  therein  stated" — And  it  further 


—68— 

appears  that  the  following  Monday  was  afsigned  for  the  pur- 
pose, &  notice  thereof  given  to  M"^  Rogers. — From  page  19,  it 
appears,  that  the  house  of  Bishops  resolved  to  go  into  an  inves- 
tigation of  the  matters  which  M^  Rogers  had  bro't  before  them, 
in  presence  of  such  members  of  the  house  of  Clerical  &  Lay 
Deputies  as  should  pofsefs  any  information  on  the  subject. — 
From  page  20  it  appears  that  the  Clerical  members  from  the 
state  of  Connecticut  were  admitted  to  a  hearing  on  the  subject 
of  M'.  Rogers  in  his  presence,  documents  on  both  sides  were 
read,  and  a  hearing  was  given  to  the  parties  concerned — From 
page  21  &  22  it  appears  that  in  consequence  of  an  application 
from  M''  Rogers  made  in  the  absence  of  the  clergy  from  Con- 
necticutt ;  the  house  of  Bishops  resolved  that  nothing  should  be 
done  in  the  businefs  except  in  the  presence  of  both  parties,  & 
that  on  a  further  application  of  a  Clerical  Member  from  Connec- 
ticut, both  parties  were  introduced  on  the  following  day,  &  a 
further  hearing  was  given. — From  page  23  it  appears  that  at  7 
OClock  of  the  same  day  the  house  of  Bishops  met,  &  that  the 
Right  Rev"^  Bishop  White,  the  Right  Rev"^  Bishop  More,  &  the 
Right  Rev'^  Bishop  Parker  were  present,  &  that  the  Bishops 
came  to  a  determination  of  which  the  following  is  an  extract — 
"After  a  full  inquiry  &c. — to degradation  from  the  minis- 
try"—2* 

By  recurring  to  the  Journals,  you  will  find  that  the  above  is 
an  impartial  statement  of  facts,  &.  that  the  following  particulars 
undeniably  result  from  it — M"^.  Ammi  Rogers  brought  this  busi- 
nefs himself  before  the  house  of  Bishops,  &  in  the  words  of  his 
memorial  declared  that — "he  has  never  shunned  investigation, 
but  on  the  contrary  has  always  requested  it,  and  now  prays  that 
a  candid  &  impartial  enquiry  may  be  made  as  to  his  conduct  and 
character" — It  appears  that  M'.  Rogers  presented  to  the  house 
his  documents ;  and  that  a  full  hearing  of  the  case,  was  at  dif- 
ferent times  made  in  the  presence  of  both  parties ;  that  M"" 
Rogers  confirmed  the  wish  that  he  exprefsed  for  an  enquiry  by 
always  attending  for  the  purpose.  And  it  was  not  untill  the 
close  of  the  enquiry,  &  untill  he  had  reason  to  fear  the  unfavor- 
able result  to  himself,  that  he  exprefsed  to  the  Bishops  that  he 
did  not  wish  them  to  Come  to  any  decision. — Now  as  persons 
deeply  interested  for  the  peace  of  the  church,  &  your  spiritual 

**  Note  XXIV. 


welfare,  we  intreat  your  conscientious  attention  to  the  follow- 
ing considerations. — Can  you  suppose,  that  if  M''  Rogers  did 
not  wish  for  an  enquiry  into  his  conduct  by  the  house  of 
Bishops ;  he  Avould  have  permitted  them  to  engage  in  it.  without 
entering  his  solemn  protest  against  it?  Can  you  suppose  that 
the  Right  Revd.  Bishop  White  whose  impartiality  and  mildness 
are  so  universally  acknowledged.  That  Bishop  More,  who  had 
been  represented  by  M'.  Rogers,  as  friendly  to  him — that  Bishop 
Parker,  who  had  just  made  his  solemn  vows  at  the  Altar,  would 
have  forced  M"".  Rogers  to  an  enquiry  if  he  had  not  solicited  it ; 
would  declare  that  they  had  made  a  full  enquiry,  and  fair  exam- 
ination of  the  subject,  if  such  enquiry  &  examination  had  not 
been  made? — Can  you  suppose  that  these  Bishops  of  the 
church,  would  have  violated  every  obligation  of  truth  &  justice 
as  well  as  the  most  solemn  vows  of  office,  by  condemning  an 
innocent  man? — Could  Mr.  Rogers  have  had  a  trial  before  a 
more  impartial  tribunal? — Or  can  you  suppose  that  after  the 
house  of  Bishops,  had  made  a  full  enquiry,  &  pronounced  their 
opinion,  any  thing  else  was  left  to  the  Bishop  of  Connecticut 
than  to  carry  their  decision  into  effect?  M"^  Rogers  made  an 
appeal  to  the  house  of  Bishops — They  tho't  proper  to  investi- 
gate his  conduct  &  to  pronounce  a  decision. — The  cannons  of 
the  church  of  Connecticut  in  regard  to  the  trial  of  Clergymen 
could  here  have  no  operation. — The  Bishop  of  Connecticut  was 
the  agent  to  carry  the  decision  of  the  house  of  Bishops  into 
effect — M'  Rogers  has  been  solemnly  degraded  from  the  minis- 
try after  a  full  investigation  of  his  conduct,  &  a  discufsion  in 
regard  to  him  by  the  highest  authority  of  the  Church — We 
entreat  you  as  friends  to  the  peace  of  society  &  the  order  &  har- 
mony of  the  church ;  we  entreat  you  by  your  character  as 
Church  [men] — by  the  memory  of  your  forefather  who  cherished 
the  church  with  inviolable  fidelity — we  entreat  you  by  the 
prospect  of  that  awful  tribunal  at  which  all  mankind  must  be 
judged,  to  regard  the  divine  injunction — "Hear  the  church" — 
In  the  language  of  the  Apostle  we  exhort  you,  Brethren,  "Put 
from  you  that  unworthy  person" — Remember  the  injunction  of 
our  Lord — "If  any  man  refuse  to  hear  the  church,  let  him  be 
unto  you  as  a  heathan  man  &  a  publican" — In  the  spirit  of 
meeknefs  &  affection  we  entreat  you  "Rend  not  that  divine 
body  the   church   which   your   Redeemer   purchased   with   his 


— 70— 

blood — For  ourselves  we  most  solemnly  declare,  that  mindful 
of  the  comifsion  given  to  us  by  our  divine  Master,  &  relying 
on  his  promise,  that  He  will  be  with  His  church  alway,  even  to 
the  end  of  the  world,  we  shall  esteem  it  our  sacred  duty  to  pre- 
serve inviolate  the  authority  committed  to  us, — And  we  trust 
that  what  is  there  "done"  by  the  lawful  Governors  of  the  church 
"on  Earth  will  be  ratified  in  Heaven" — 

Tillotson  Brownson  Chairman  of  Commi. 

Rev^  Tillotson  Brownson,  Doctor  Bela  Hubbard  &  Rev"^ 
Ashbel  Baldwin  were  appointed  a  Committee  with  full  power 
to  confer  with  Oliver  Steele  &  Co  printers  of  the  Churchmans 
Magazine  on  the  subject  of  a  future  publication  of  s"^.  Maga- 
zine.— 

Mefs  Rev''  A  Baldwin,  Rev''  P  Shelton,  Rev^  A  Todd,  &  Rev" 
D  Burhans  were  appointed  a  Committee  to  publish  such  part 
or  parts  of  the  Journals  of  the  present  Convocation  as  they  shall 
think  proper. — ^^ 

Mefs  Rev''  A  Baldwin,  Rev"  P  Shelton,  Rev"  A  Todd  &  Rev" 
D  Burhans  were  appointed  a  Committee  to  publish  a  history  of 
the  ecclesiastical  proceedings,  in  regard  to  M"^  Ammi  Rogers. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  9  OClock  A.  M.  to  morrow. — 

Thursday  Morning  9  OClock  A.  M. — 

Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  adjournment. — 

Resolved — That  M'  Carey  Leeds  be  informed  that  the  Con- 
vocation have  received  his  communication  of  October  16*'^. 
accompanied  with  a  certain  vote  of  a  meeting  held  at  St  John's 
Church  in  Stamford  on  the  27*''.  day  of  May  1805  attested  by 
Isaac  Holly  Jn''.  by  which  they  have  declared  that  they  are  not 
under  the  direction  nor  ameniable  to  the  Authority  of  any 
Bishop. — This  Convocation  have  therefore  no  further  commu- 
nications to  make  to  M'  Leeds  on  this  subject. — 

Resolved.  That  this  Convocation  have  a  grateful  sense  of 
the  attention  of  their  Brethren  in  the  Diocese  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  by  requesting  several  Presbyters  of  their  body,  to 
make  a  Visit  to  this  Convocation,  with  a  view  to  promote  a 
friendly  intercourse,  &  that  this  Convocation  will  most  cheer- 
fully unite  with  them  in  promoting  that  desirable  Object. — 

"  Note  XXV. 


—71— 

Resolved— That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  Con- 
vocation to  give  information  to  the  Bishop  of  the  state  of  New 
York  of  the  time  &  place  of  their  meetings.— 

Rev^  M'  A  Baldwin,  Rev  Doctor  Hubbard  &  Rev^.  P  Shelton 
were  requested  to  attend  the  next  Convocation  in  the  State  of 
New  York. — 

Voted  the  thanks  of  Convocation  to  the  President  &  Secretary 
for  their  attendance  &  fervices. — 

Convocation  Adjourned  without  day. 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 


[1806] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  Connecticutt  holden  at  the 
house  of  the  Rev"^.  Reuben  Ives  in  Cheshire  on  the  3^.  day  of 
June  1806. — 

Present— Right  Rev*^.  Bishop  Jarvis  D  D. 

Rev"^.  Bela  Hubbard  D  D 

Rev*^.  William  Smith  D  D 

Rev^.  John  Tyler 

Rev*^.  Philo  Shelton 

Rev"*.  Ashbel  Baldwin 

Rev"^.  Chauncey  Prindle 

Rev"^.  Tillotson  Brownson 

Rev**.  Reuben  Ives 

Rev^.  Charles  Seabury 
Deacons  Rev*^.  Solomon  Blakeley 

Rufsel  Wheeler      Rev^.  Truman  Marsh 
Roger  Searl  Rev"^.  Menzies  Rayner 

Virgil.  H  Barber.  Rev<^.  Clement  Merriam 

Rev"^.  Charles  White 

Rev*^.  Henry  Whitlock 

Rev^  Ashbel  Baldwin  was  chosen  Secretary. — 

On  motion  by  Mr.   Baldwin— Resolved,  that  in  future  no 

person  shall  be  considered  as  a  Candidate  in  this  Diocese,  untill 

he  has  been  examined  by  the  Bishop,  or  such  of  his  Presbyters 

as  he  may  appoint  and  that  previous  to  any  such  examination 


—72— 

being  had  the  person  offering  himself  to  become  a  Candidate, 
shall  have  studied  with  the  Bishop,  the  Principal  of  the  Acad- 
emy or  some  other  Presbyter  in  the  Diocese  at  least  one  year,  if 
he  has  received  the  honors  of  some  College,  or  incorporate 
Academy,  or  the  term  of  two  Years  if  he  has  not  received  such 
honors. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  6  OClock  A.  M.  to  morrow. — 

Thursday  Morning  6  OClock 
Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  adjournment. — 
But  as  there  appeared  to  be  no  businefs,  to  be  laid  before 
them,  it  was  adjourned  without  day. — 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop  &  Presbyters  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  Connecticutt  holden  at  the  house  of  the 
Rev^.  Daniel  Burhans  in  NewTown  the  y^^.  day  of  October 
i8o6.— 

Present 
Right  Rev<^.  A  Jarvis  D  D 

Rev*^.  Doctor  Mansfield 
Rev*^.  Doctor  Hubbard 
Rev"^.  Philo  Shelton 
Deacons  Rev*^.  Ashbel  Baldwin 

Rufsel  Wheeler  Rev*^.  Chauncey  Prindle 

Virgil  H  Barber  Rev*^  Tillotson  Brownson 

Rev*^  Reuben  Ives 
Visiting  Brethren  Rev^.  Truman  Marsh 

Jonathan  Judd  Rev*^.  Daniel  Burhans 

from  the  State  of  Rev*^.  Calvin  White 

New  York —  Rev^  Minzies  Rayner 

Rev*^.  Roger  Searle 

Rev^  Ashbel  Baldwin  was  chosen  Secretary. 

Voted  that  all  regular  Clergymen,  belonging  to  the  Episcopal 
Church,  who  may  be  present  during  the  fession,  be  invited  to 
take  a  seat  as  visiting  Brethren. — 

The  Rev*^  Truman  Marsh,  Rev^  Menzies  [Rayner,]  Rev*^ 
Ashbel  Baldwin  &  Rev*^.  Tillotson  Brownson  were  appointed  a 
Committee  to  enquire  into  the  state  of  the  Church  in  the  Diocese 
&  report  to  this  or  the  next  Convocation. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  to  morrow  at  8  OClock  A.  M. — 


—73— 

Wednesday  8  OClock  A.  M. 

Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  Adjournment. 
Convocation  adjourned  untill  6  OClock  P.  M. — 

6  o'clock  P.  M. 

Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  adjournment. — 

Whereas  the  Convention  of  the  Episcopal  Church  holden  at 
NewTown  this  S^^.  day  of  October,  decided  that  they  were  not 
competent  to  judge  respecting  the  suspension  &  degradation  of 
Ammi  Rogers. — 

Resolved  by  the  Convocation  that  in  their  opinion  the  only 
proper  board  for  redrefs  of  grievances  complained  of  by  s^ 
Rogers  in  consequence  of  his  suspension  &  degradation  is  the 
House  of  Bishops,  to  whose  decifsion  the  Convocation  are  ever 
ready  to  submit. — 

Rv<^  M''  Brownson,  Rev"^  M'.  Whitlock  &  Rev"*  M'  Rayner 
be  appointed  a  committee  to  write  to  Bishop  White,  Bishop 
Clagget,  &  Bishop  Moore  &  request  their  opinion  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Ammi  Rogers — 

Leave  of  Absence  was  granted  to  the  Rev*^.  M'.  Baldwin  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  Sefsion 

Rev*^.  Mr.  Shelton  appointed  Secretary  Pro.  Tem. 

The  committee  appointed  to  write  to  the  Bishops,  reported  the 
following  letter,  which  was  directed  to  be  signed  by  the  secre- 
tary &  transmitted  to  the  several  Bishops  who  were  present  at 
the  last  General  Convention. — 

Right  Rev*^  Sir.— 
The  Bishop  of  Connecticutt  with  the  advice  of  his  Presbyters 
in  Convocation  afsembled  at  Cheshire  in  the  Month  of  October 
of  the  Year  1804,  pafsed  sentence  of  degredation  against  M* 
Ammi  Rogers.  In  taking  this  step,  the  Bishop  conceived  him- 
self warranted  by  the  proceedings  had  with  regard  to  the  said 
M"^  Rogers  before  the  House  of  Bishops  at  New  York. — This 
opinion  was  formed  on  the  consideration  of  the  full,  &  solemn 
hearings  that  were  given  to  M"^  Rogers  &;  the  Delegation  from 
Connecticutt:  &  on  the  conceived  impropriety  of  again  calling 
in  question  facts  which  the  highest  ecclesiastical  authority  in 
our  Church,  had  said  were  proved. — Having  nothing  in  view,  as 
is  hoped  &  believed,  but  the  honour  of  God's  Church  &  the  pros- 


—74— 

perity  of  true  religion,  it  is  found  with  regret  that  a  different 
opinion  has  been  exprefsed  by  two  of  the  members  of  the  house 
of  Bishops ;  in  their  affidavits  given  to  M''  Rogers ;  which  has 
exposed  the  Church  in  Connecticut  to  much  inconvenience  & 
trouble,  &  the  danger  of  an  unhappy  fcism  greatly  increased  by 
the  efforts  now  carried  on  by  the  s*^  M"^  Rogers  &  his  adherents. 

If  these  evils  are  to  be  ascribed  to  the  Governors  of  the 
Church  in  Connecticut  in  consequence  of  their  erroneous  con- 
clusions from  what  was  done  at  New  York,  they  flatter  them- 
selves that  it  was  the  error  of  the  head,  &  not  of  the  heart ; 
But  however  this  may  be,  they  stand  ready  to  be  corrected  by 
the  competent  authority. — And  being  disposed  to  do  every  thing 
in  their  power  for  the  peace  of  the  Church  they  do  hereby 
request  that  you  will,  in  conjunction,  with  the  other  Bishops 
concerned,  transmit  a  statement  of  your  view  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject, together  with  your  advice  to  Connecticut,  how  it  would  be 
prudent  in  the  present  state  of  things,  to  proceed ;  &  particu- 
larly whether  it  would  be  advisable  to  give  M'  Rogers  a  new 
Trial  on  the  ground  of  Nulity  in  the  act  of  degradation. 

Your  advice  on  this,  or  any  other  point,  that  may  tend  to 
remove  the  unhappy  embarasments,  under  which  the  Church  is 
laboring  will  be  thankfully  received  &  seriously  weighed,  & 
considered. — 

Convocation  adjourned  without  day. 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary. 

[1807] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters  and  Deacons  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  Connecticutt  holden  at  the 
house  of  Deacon  Rufsel  Wheeler  in  Watertown  on  the  2^.  Day 
of  June  1807. — 

Present  Right  Rev*^.  Bishop  Jarvis 
Rev^.  John  Tyler 
Rev"^.  Philo  Shelton 
Rev"*.  Ashbel  Baldwin 
Deacons —  Rev*^    Chauncey  Prindle 

Rufsel  Wheeler  Rev*^.  Tillitson  Brownson 

Cornwall  Rev^   Reuben  Ives 

Horace  V  Barber  Rev^.  Truman  Marsh 


—75— 

Rev*^.  Daniel  Burhans 
Rev*^    Menzies  Rayner 

Re\^  Henry  Whitlock 

Rev"^  Nathan  B  Burgis 

Rev*^.  M''  Buckley  from  Poukeepsiee  in  the  State  of  New 
York  was  present  &  requested  to  take  a  seat. — 

Rev^  M"^  Baldwin  was  chosen  Secretary. — 

A  letter  from  the  Rev*^  Doctor  Hobart  of  New  York,  respect- 
ing the  Churchmans  Magazine  was  read — &  Mefs  the  Rev*^.  M'. 
Shelton,  Rev"^  M'  Marsh,  &  the  Rev<^  Mr  Brownson  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  answer  the  same. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  7  OClock  to  Morrow  Morn- 
ing.— 

Wednesday  June  3^.  7  OClock  A  M. 

Convocation  opened  agreeable  to  the  adjournment 

Letters  from  Bishop  White,  Bishop  Clagget,  &  Bishop  More 
were  read,  and  ordered  to  be  kept  on  file. — 

An  Addrefs  from  Ammi  Rogers  to  the  Convocation  was  read, 
and  ordered  to  be  kept  on  file. — 

Voted  the  thanks  of  the  Convocation  to  the  Rev^  Daniel 
Burhans  for  his  sermon  delivered  at  the  Ordination  of  the  Rev"^ 
M'  Wheeler.— 

Convocation  Adjourned  without  day. 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters  &  Deacons  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  Connecticut,  in  Convocation 
holden  at  the  house  of  the  Rev*^.  John  Tyler  in  Norwich  on  the 
f^  day  of  October  1807. — 

Present. 
Right  Rev*^  Bishop  Jarvis  D.  D. 
Rev^  Bela  Hubbard  D.  D. 
Rev*^  John  Tyler 
Rev"^  Ashbel  Baldwin 
Rev*^  Truman  Marsh 
Rev^  Charles  Seabury 
Rev**  Daniel  Burhans 
Rev^  Menzies  Rayner 
Rev^  Asa  Cornwal 


-76- 

Deacons 
Rev"^  Elijah  G  Plum 
Rev^  David  Baldwin 
Rev*^  Benj"*  Burham 

Visiting  Brethren 
Rev*.  Alexander  V  Griswold — Bristol 
Deacon  John  Ward — NewPort 

On  motion — Voted,  that  the  Rev*^  M'  Griswold  &  Deacon 
John  Ward  from  the  Diocese  of  Rode  Iseland  be  requested  to 
take  a  seat  in  this  Convocation  as  visiting  Brethren. — 

Voted,  That  in  future  the  Deacons  shall  be  admitted  to  vote 
in  Convocation,  in  all  cases  excepting  when  the  Bishop  decides 
it  will  be  improper  for  them  to  act. — 

Voted  That  Bishop  Jarvis,  Mefs  Baldwin  &  Burhans  be 
appointed  a  Committee  with  full  powers  to  secure  a  copy  rite 
for  the  Churchman's  magazine,  for  the  Bishop  &  Clerg[y]  of 
this  Diocese,  upon  condition  such  copy  rite  can  be  legally 
secured  to  them  &  upon  condition  such  a  measure  shall  meet 
with  the  approbation  of  the  clergy  in  New  York — and  that  they 
be  empowered  by  this  body,  to  negociate  with  the  Printers,  & 
others  concerned  the  manner  of  its  future  publication. — ^^ 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  tomorrow  morning. 

Thursday  Morning  8  OClock 
Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  adjournment 
Convocation  adjourned  to  attend  publick  fervice. 
A  Procession  was  made  to  Christs  Church,  when  Morning 

Prayers  were  said  by  the  Rev"^  Asa  Cornwal,  &  a  Sermon  was 

delivered  by  the  Rev*  Menzies  Rayner. — 

Thursday  6  OClock  P.  M. 

On  motion. — Voted  the  thanks  of  this  Convocation  to  the 
Rev*  M'  Rayner  for  his  sermon  delivered  before  them. — 

Voted  the  thanks  of  the  Convocation,  to  the  President  &  Sec- 
retary for  their  attendance,  and  services. — 

Convocation  adjourned  without  day 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 
*^  Note  XXV. 


—77— 

[i8o8] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters  &  Deacons  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Connecticut  in  Convocation 
holden  at  the  house  of  the  Rev"^  Henry  Whitlock  in  Norwalk 
on  the  30^^,  day  of  August  1808. — 

Present 
Right  Rev"^  Bishop  Jarvis  D.  D. 

Rev^  Bela  Hubbard  D.  D. 
Visiting  Brethren  Rev"^  Philo  Shelton 

from  Maryland  Rev"^  Afhbel  Baldwin 

Rev"^  John  Kewley  M.D.     Rev<^  Daniel  Burhans 
Rev*^  Bethel  Judd  Rev*^  Menzies  Rayner 

from  New  York  State       Rev"^.  Calvin  White 
Rev*^.  George  Strebeck  Rev^  Asa  Cornwall 

Rev"^  Evan  Rogers  Rev^  Henry  Whitlock 

Rev*^  Ambrose  Todd 

Deacons — 
Rev^  Elijah  G  Plumb 
Rev*^  Benjamin  Benham 
Rev"^  Zalmon  Wheaton 

The  Rev^  Ashbel  Baldwin  was  elected  Secretary. — 

The  Rev^  John  Kewley  of  Chester  Parish  &  the  Rev^.  Bethel 
Judd  of  St  Ann's  at  Anapolis  in  Maryland  were  present  & 
requested  to  take  a  Seat  in  Convocation  as  visiting  Brethren. — 

Voted,  that  the  Committee  appointed  at  the  last  Convocation 
respecting  the  Churchman's  Magazine  be  discharged  from  any 
further  consideration  of  that  subject. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  to  morrow  Morning. — 

Wednesday  8  OClock  A.  M. 
Convocation  opened  agreeable  to  adjournment 
The  Rev"^.  George  Strebeck  from  New  York  &  the  Rev^  Evan 

Rogers  from  Rye  were  present,  &  were  requested  to  take  their 

seats  as  visiting  Brethren. 

Convocation  adjourned  to  attend  publick  Service. — 
Morning  Prayers  were  read  by  the  Rev^.  Menzies  Rayner  & 

a  sermon  was  delivered  by  the  Rev^.  Daniel  Burhans  &  Deacons 

Benjamin  Benham  &  Elijah  G  Plumb  were  admitted  to  the  holy 

Order  of  Priests. — 


-78- 

■      Wednesday  5  OClock  P.  M. 
Convocation  opened  in  due  form. — 

The  Rev*^.  Henry  Whitlock  &  the  Rev*^  Salmon  Wheaton  were 
requested  by  the  Convocation  to  attend  the  Convocation  in  New 
York.— 

Voted  the  thanks  of  this  Convocation  to  the  Rev"^  Daniel 
Burhans  for  his  Sermon  delivered  before  them. — 

Voted  the  thanks  of  Convocation  to  the  President  and  Secre- 
tary for  their  attendance  &  fer vices. 

Adjourned  sine  Die 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 

[1809] 

A  Convocation  of  the  Presbyters  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
Connecticutt  was  holden  at  the  house  of  Cap^  Timothy  Johnson 
in  Guilford  on  the  6*^.  day  of  June  1809 — 

Present. 

Rev**.  John  Tyler — President 

Rev^  Ashbel  Baldwin 

Rev*^.  Chauncey  Prindle 

Rev^.  Tillotson  Brownson 

Rev*^.  Reuben  Ives 

Rev*^.  Truman  Marsh 

Rev*^.  Daniel  Burhans 

Rev"^.  Nathan  B  Burges 

Rev*^,  Menzies  Rayner 

Rev^.  Rufsel  Wheeler 

Rev**.  Benjamin  Benham 

Rev^.  Virgil  H  Barber 

Rev*^.  John  Kewley 

Rev*^.  David  Baldwin 

Visiting  Brethren, 
Rev^  Abraham  Beach  D.  D.  from  New  York 
Rev*^  Abraham  Brownson  from  Vermont 

Rev^.  Ashbel  Baldwin  was  elected  Secretary. — 
Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  to  morrow  Morning. — 


—79— 

Wednesday  Morning  8  OClock 
Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  the  Adjournment. 

Rev*^.  Elijah  G.  Plumb  ■\ 
Rev''.  Charles  Seabnry  > 
Rev''.  Philo  Shelton        )  took  their  seats.— 

Resolved  that  the  Rev''  Doctor  Beach  &  the  Rev''.  M"^.  Brown- 
son  he  requested  to  take  their  seats  with  the  Convocation  as 
visiting  Brethren  during  its  present  fefsion. — 

On  motion  by  M"".  Ives,  resolved  unanimously  that  the  Bishop 
be  requested  to  appoint  a  meeting  of  Convocation  at  Cheshire 
on  the  First  Wednesday  of  October  next. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  7  OClock  P.  M.  for  the  purpose 
of  attending  publick  service  in  the  Church — A  procefsion  was 
then  formed  from  the  house  of  Capt  Johnson  to  the  Episcopal 
Church  by  the  Clergy  &  Lay  Delegates — Morning  Prayers  was 
read  by  the  Rev''.  Rufsel  Wheeler,  &  a  Sermon  was  delivered  by 
the  Rev''  Ashbel  Baldwin — The  Revd.  David  Baldwin  was  duly 
&  canonically  instituted  into  the  Rectorship  of  Christ's  Church 
in  Guilford,  &  the  Churches  of  North  Guilford,  and  North 
Killingsworth. — -^ 

Wednesday  7  OClock  P.  M. 
Convocation  m.eet  agreeable  to  the  adjournment. 
Rev''.  M""  Baldwin  &  the  Rev''  M"^  Shelton  were  requested  to 
attend  the  State  Convention  in  New  York. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  to  morrow  at  11  OClock  A.  M. 

Thursday  11  OClock. 
Convocation  met  agreeable  to  the  adjournment. 
Voted  the  thanks  of  Convocation  to  the  President  &  Secre- 
tary for  their  Attendance  &  Services. 

Adjourned  Sine  Die 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 
New  Haven  October  26*^.  1809 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop  &  Presbyters  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  Connecticutt  in  Convocation  holden  at 
Trinity  Church  in  New  Haven  on  Wednesday  the  26*''.  day  of 
October  1809. 

'•  Note  XXVI. 


Present. 

Right  Rev"^.  Bishop  Jarvis.  D.  D. 

Rev"^.  Richard  Mansfield  D  D 

Rev^.  Bela  Hubbard  D  D. 

Rev"*.  Philo  Shelton 

Rev"*.  Ashbel  Baldwin 

Rev^.  Tillotson  Brownson 

Rev"*.  Truman  Marsh 

Rev"*.  Chauncey  Prindle 

Rev"*.  Daniel  Burhans 

Rev"*.  Solomon  Blakesley 

Rev"*.  Rogers  Searle 

Rev"*.  Calvin  White 

Rev^.  Rufsel  Wheeler 

Rev"*.  Virgil  H  Barber 

Rev^.  Nathan  B  Burges 

Rev"*.  Asa  Cornwall 

Rev^.  David  Baldwin 

Rev"*.  Joseph  D.  Welton — Deacon. — 

Morning  Prayers  were  read  by  the  Rev"*.  Doctor  Hubbard. — 
Rev"*.  M"".  Barber  was  appointed  secretary  Pro.  Tern. 

Voted  that  this  Convocation  be  adjourned  untill  9  OClock  to 

Morrow  morning,  then  to  meet  at  the  House  of  Bishop  Jarvis. — 

Thursday  9  OClock  A.  M. 

Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  the  adjournment  And  as  there 

was  no  businefs  laid  before  the  Convocasion  it  was  adjourned 

without  day. — 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 

[1810] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters,  &  Deacons  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Connecticut  holden  at  the  house 
of  Capt  Amzi  Talmage  in  Plymouth  on  the  First  Tuesday  of 
June  1810. 

Present. 

Right  Rev^.  Bishop  Jarvis 

Rev"*.  Richard  Mansfield  D  D 
Rev"*.  Bela  Hubbard  D  D 


—Si- 
Rev'^.  Philo  Shelton 
Rev<^.  Ashbel  Baldwin 
Rev"^.  Chauncey  Prindle 
Rev"^.  Tillotson  Brownson 
Rev'^.  Daniel  Biirhans 
Rev"^.  Henry  Whitlock 
Rev"^.  Menzies  Rayner 
Rev'^.  David  Baldwin 
Rev"^.  Benjamin  Benham 
Rev-^.  Rufsel  Wheeler 
Rev*^.  Virgel  H  Barber 
Rev*^.  Roger  Searle 
Rev*^    Salmon  Wheaton 
Rev'^.  Solomon  Blakesley 
Rev*^.  Smith  Miles 

Deacons 
Rev'^.  Joseph  D  Welton 
Rev*^.  Stnrgis  Gilbert 
Rev*^.  Daniel  McDonald 
Rev**.  Samuel  F  Jarvis 
Rev"^.  Reuben  Hubbard 

Convocation  adjourned  to  meet  at  8  OClock  to  morrow. — 

Wednesday  8  OClock  A.  M. 

Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  the  adjournment. 

A  procefsion  was  formed  to  the  Church.  Morning  Prayers 
was  read  by  the  Rev"^.  Samuel  F  Jarvis,  and  a  sermon  delivered 
by  the  Rev<^.  Chauncey  Prindle,  and  the  Rev"^.  Roger  Searle  was 
duly,  and  canonically  instituted  into  the  Rectorship  of  St. 
Matthews  &  St.  Peters  Churches  in  Plymouth,  by  the  Rev"^. 
Philo  Shelton.— 

Voted  the  thanks  of  Convocation  [to]  the  President  and  Sec- 
retary for  their  attendance  &  fervices 

Convocation  adjourned  without  day 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 


—82— 

[I8l2] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters  &  Deacons  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Convocation  holden  at  the 
house  of  the  Rev*^.  Henry  Whitlock  in  New  Haven  on  Wednes- 
day the  19.  of  Feb^.  1812. — 

Members  Present. 
Right  Rev^.  Bishop  Jarvis,  D.  D. 
Rev\  Bela  Hubbard,  D.  D. 
Rev'^.  Philo  Shelton. 
Rev'^.  Ashbel  Baldwin. 
Rev*^.  Daniel  Burhans. 
Rev"^.  Henry  Whitlock. 
Rev'^.  Bethel  Judd. 
Rev'^.  Virgel  H  Barber. 
Rev*^.  Rufsel  Wheeler. 
Rev''.  David  Baldwin. 
Rev''.  Roger  Searl. 
Rev^.  Elijah  G  Plumb. 
Rev''.  Joseph  D  Welton. 

Convocation  was  opened  at  9  OClock  A.  M.  and  prayers  were 
read  by  the  Secretary. 

The  following  rules  were  adopted. — 

Rules  of  Order. — 
i^*^.  In  all  Convocations  in  this  State,  in  case  of  the  Bishop's 
absence;  the  Senior  Clergyman  shall  preside,  and  be  stiled  the 
President. — 

2.  Prayers  shall  be  attended  at  the  opening  of  the  Convoca- 
tion, &  at  all  times  to  which  the  same  shall  be  adjourned  in  the 
Morning. — 

3.  The  President  shall  take  the  chair,  &  proceed  to  businefs  at 
the  hour  appointed. — 

4.  Every  member  disposed  to  move  any  question,  or  to  speak 
upon  any  question  already  moved  shall  rise  &  respectfully 
addrefs  himself  to  the  presiding  Officer. — 

5  No  member  shall  be  permitted  to  speak  more  than  twice 
upon  any  question  without  consent  of  the  Convocation. — 

6.  Every  member  shall  attend  to  the  businefs  of  the  Convo- 
cation.— 


-83- 

7  No  member  shall  leave  the  Convocation  without  permifsion 
of  the  President. — 

8.  No  member  shall  interrupt  another  when  speaking. — 

9  The  President  shall  determine  all  questions  of  order. — 

10.  At  the  opening  of  every  Convocation  the  foregoing  Rules 
shall  be  read. — 

The  Bishop  delivered  an  Addrefs  to  the  Convocation. 

The  Bishop  retired,  &  the  Rev'^.  Doctor  Hubbard  took  the 
chair. — 

On  motion,  resolved  unanimously  that  the  President  return 
the  thanks  of  this  House  to  the  Bishop  for  his  affectionate 
Addrefs  delivered  to  the  Convocation. — 

The  Bishop  returned  &  took  his  seat. — 

The  Rev*^  Doctor  Hubbard,  Rev'^.  M'  Judd  &  the  Rev<^.  M' 
Shelton  were  appointed  a  Committee,  to  report  on  that  part  of 
the  Bishops  addrefs  respecting  the  present  state  of  the  Diocese 
of  New  York. — 

On  motion,  Resolved  that  the  Bishop  be  requested  to  notify 
the  meetings  of  Convocation,  by  a  Circular  addrefsed  to  the 
Presbyters  &  Deacons. — 

Rev**  M"^  Burhans  appeared  &  took  his  seat. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  3  OClock  P.  M. 
Wednesday  3  OClock 

Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  Adjournment. — 

Rev*^.  David  Baldwin  appeared  &  took  his  seat. — 

The  Committee  appointed  to  report  on  the  Bishops  addrefs, 
made  the  following,  which  was  accepted. — 

The  Committee  appointed  to  report  on  that  part  of  the  Bishops 
addrefs,  which  relates  to  the  unhappy  difficulties  existing  in  the 
Diocese  of  the  State  of  New  York,  beg  leave  to  report,  that  a 
Committee  be  appointed  to  advise  with  our  Brethren  of  that 
Diocese,  &  to  take  such  prudential  measures  to  remove  those 
difficulties  as  by  the  blefsing  of  God  may  be  in  their  power. — 

Bela  Hubbard    ^ 
Philo  Shelton     >■  Committee 
Bethel  Judd       ) 

The  Rev"^.  Tillotson  Brownson,  Rev"^.  Philo  Shelton,  Rev^. 
Bethel  Judd,  Rev'^.  Daniel  Burhans  w^ere  appointed  a  committee 
to  carry  the  design  of  the  foregoing  Report  into  effect. — ^^ 
^■^  Note  XXVII. 


-84- 

Convocation  adjourned  one  hour. 

Wednesday  8  OClocl^  P  M. 

Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  adjournment. 

Resolved,  That  a  Petition  be  preferred  by  the  Bishop  &  Clergy 
of  the  Diocese  of  Conncut.,  with  the  consent  &  approbation  of 
the  board  of  Trustees  of  the  Episcopal  Academy,  to  the  next 
Legislature,  praying  that  said  Academy  may  be  erected  into  a 
College. — ^^ 

The  Rev-^.  M'  Brownson,  Rev^  M^  Chase,  Rev^  M"-.  A  Bald- 
win, Rev*^  M'  Whitlock,  &  Rev*^.  M''.  Judd  were  appointed  a 
Committee  to  draft  said  Petition  &  advocate  the  same  before 
the  Legislator. 

Voted  the  Thanks  of  Convocation  to  the  President  &  Secre- 
tary for  attendance  &  services. 

Convocation  adjourned  without  day. 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 
[Two  pages  have  been  left  blank  here,  apparently  by  mistake.] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters  &  Deacons  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  Connecticut  in  Convocation 
holden  at  the  house  of  John  Morgan  Esq.  in  Hartford  on  the 
2^.  day  of  June  1812. — 

Present  Right  Rev*^.  Bishop  Jarvis  D.  D. 
Rev^.  Bela  Hubbard  D.  D. 
Rev\  Philo  Shelton 
Rev^.  Ashbel  Baldwin 
Rev*^.  Tillotson  Brownson 
Rev"^.  Reuben  Ives 
Rev^.  Chauncey  Prindle 
Rev*^.  Charles  Seabury 
Rev*^.  Truman  Marsh 
Rev"^.  Daniel  Burhans 
Rev*^.  Philander  Chase 
Rev*^.  Menzies  Rayner 
Rev<^.  Smith  Miles 
Rev^.  Henry  Whitlock 
Rev"^.  Rufsel  Wheeler 
*^  Note  xxvin. 


-85- 

Rev^.  Virgil  H  Barber 
Rev'*.  Benjamin  Benham 
Rev"*   Asa  Cornwall 
Rev**.  David  Baldwin 
Rev**  Roger  Searle 
Rev^  Joseph  D  Welton 

Deacons 
Rev"*.  Daniel  M'=Donald 
Rev**.  Frederick  Holcomb 
Rev"*.  Nathaniel  Huse 
Rev**.  Birdsey  G  Nobles 
Rev^.  Isaac  Jones 

Mefs  Brownson,  Shelton,  &  Searle  were  appointed  a  Com- 
mittee to  frame  a  Cannon  for  the  regulation  of  Easther  Meet- 
ings.— 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  to  morrow  Morning 
then  to  meet  in  the  Church. — 

Wednesday  June  3^*.  8  OClock  A.  M. 

Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  the  adjour[n]ment. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  frame  a  Cannon  to  regulate 
Easter  meetings,  proposed  the  following  which  was  unani- 
mously agreed  to,  &  recommended  to  the  Convention  for  their 
consideration,  and  adoption. — 

A  Cannon  regulating  Easter  Meetings 

There  shall  be  a  Meeting  in  Easter  Week,  of  the  Wardens, 
Vestrymen  &  Parishioners  of  each  Parish  in  the  Diocese  for  the 
purpose  of  appointing  the  Wardens  &  Vestrymen,  &  transacting 
all  other  businefs  that  may  canonically  come  before  said  meet- 
ing.— And  at  every  such  meeting  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Rector  to  preside  agreeable  to  ancient  usage,  &  in  case  of  a 
vacancy,  or  necessary  absence  of  the  Rector,  the  seniour  Officer 
present  shall  preside. — 

Convocation  adjourned  without  day 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 


—86— 

[I8i3] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbyters,  &  Deacons  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  Convocation  holden  at  the  house  of  the 
Rev*^.  Ashbel  Baldwin  in  Stratford  on  the  First  day  of  June 
1 813  at  8  OClock  P.  M.— 

Present 
Rev"^.  Richard  Mansfield  D.  D. 
Rev*^   William  Smith— D.  D. 
Rev"^.  Philo  Shelton 
Rev<^    Ashbel  Baldwin 
Rev*^.  Tillotson  Brownson 
Rev*^.  Chauncey  Prindle 
Rev*^.  Reuben  Ives 
Rev"^.  Daniel  Burhans 
Rev"^.  Calvin  White 
Rev*^.  Philander  Chase 
Rev^.  Smith  Miles 
Rev^  Charles  Seabury 
Rev'J.  Bethel  Judd 
Rev*^    Menzies  Rayner 
Rev*^.  Henry  Whitlock 
Rev*^.  Roger  Searl 
Rev^  Rufsel  Wheeler 
Rev^.  Asa  Cornwal 
Rev"^.  Vergil  H  Barber 
Rev*^.  Jonathan  Judd 
Rev^.  Elijah  G  Plumb 
Rev*^.  Benjamin  Benham 
Rev^  David  Baldwin 
Rev^.  Joseph  D  Welton 
Rev'^.  Reuben  Hubbard 
Rev^.  Daniel  McDonald 
Rev"^.  Frederic  Holcomb 

Deacons 
Rev^.  Isaac  Jones 
Rev*^.  Birdsey  G  Nobles 

The  Rev"^.  Doctor  Mansfield  desired  to  be  excused  from  serv- 


-87- 

ing  as  President  on  account  of  his  Age  &  infirmities ;  which 
excuse  was  accepted  by  the  Brethren. — The  Rev*^.  Philo  Shelton 
being  the  next  oldest  Presbyter,  took  the  chair. — 

Rev'^.  A  Baldwin  was  elected  Secretary. 

On  motion  by  M"^  ]VPDonald. 

Resolved,  that  every  Presbyter,  Deacon,  &  Candidate  in  this 
Diocese  be  expected  to  pay  an  annual  subscription  to  any  volun- 
tary amount,  to  a  purchasing  Committee,  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose, in  order  to  augment,  &  maintain  the  Somaster's  Library, 
belonging  to  the  Clergy,  &  now  deposited  in  the  Episcopal 
Academy. — -^ 

M"".  M"^Donald  was  requested  to  draft  a  subscription  for  the 
above  purpose  &  present  it  to  the  Clergy  in  the  morning. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  to  morrow  Morn- 
ing.— 

Wednesday  June  2^.  8  OClock  A.  M. 

Convocation  opened  agreeable  to  adjournment.  M'  M'^Don- 
ald  presented  a  subscription  paper  which  was  not.  accepted  by 
the  clergy. — 

Rev*^.  Henry  Whitlock,  Rev'^.  Tillotson  Brownson  Rev*^  Daniel 
M'^Donald  was  appointed  a  Committee  to  carry  into  effect,  the 
Resolution  respecting  Somasters  Library. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  P.  M. 

Wednesday  8  OClock  P.  M. 

Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  adjournment. 

On  motion  by  M'".  M°.Donald — Resolved  to  reconsider  the 
Resolution  pafsed  last  evening  respecting  Somasters  Library. — 

M'.  M*^.Donald  was  requested  to  draft  a  subscription  for  the 
purpose  of  increasing  the  Somasters  Library,  &  present  it  to 
the  Clergy  at  the  next  Convocation. — 

Convocation  adjourned  without  day. — 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary. 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Presbyters  &  Deacons  of  the  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  Church  in  Connecticut  holden  at  the  house  of 
the  Rev*^.  Henry  Whitlock  in  New  Haven  on  the  3"^.  day  of 
June  1813.— 

"^^  Note  XXIX. 


Present. 
Rev"^.  Philo  Shelton,  President. 
Rew^   William  Smith,  D.  D. 
Rev"^.  Ashbel  Baldwin. 
Rev"^.  Chauncey  Prindle. 
Rev"^.  Tillotson  Brownson,  P.  E.  A. 
Rev*^.  Daniel  Burhans. 
Rev*^.  Calvin  White. 
Rev*^.  Philander  Chase. 
Rev*^.  Smith  Miles. 
Rev*^.  Charles  Seabury. 
Rev*^.  Menzies  Rayner. 
Rev^.  Henry  Whitlock. 
Rev*^.  Roger  Searle. 
Rev^.  Rufsel  Wheeler. 
Rev*^.  Asa  Cornwal. 
Rev"^.  Virgil  H  Barber. 
Rev*^.  Jonathan  Judd. 
Rev<^.  Elijah  G  Plumb. 
Rev*^.  Benjamin  Benham. 
Rev*^.  David  Baldwin. 
Rev^.  Joseph  D  Welton. 
Rev*^.  Reuben  Hubbard. 
Rev**.  Daniel  McDonald  A.  E.  A. 
Rev*^.  Frederick  Holcomb. 
Rev*^.  Sturgis  Gilbert. 
Rev^.  Birdsey  G.  Nobles,  Deacon. 

[The  following  resolution  has  been  entered  and  erased,  fol- 
lowed by  the  words  "Expunged  by  Order" : 

Resolved  by  this  Convocation,  that  all  the  Presbyters,  and 
Deacons  residing  in  this  Diocese  are  entitled  to  a  Vote  in  the 
election  of  a  Bishop. — 

Convocation  adjourned  without  day 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbyters,  &  Deacons  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  Convocation  at  the  house  of  the  Rev*^. 
Henry  Whitlock  in  New  Haven  on  Tuesday  the  23*^.  day  of 
November  1813 


—89— 

Present 
Rev"^.  Philo  Shelton. 
Rev''.  Ashbel  Baldwin. 
Rev*^.  Tillotson  Brownson  D.  D. 
Rev*^.  Reuben  Ives. 
Rev'^.  Daniel  Burhans. 
Rev"^.  Calvin  White. 
Rev^.  Philander  Chase. 
Rev"^.  Menzies  Rayner. 
Rev*^.  Solomon  Blakesley. 
Rev*^.  Henry  Whitlock. 
Rev"^.  Roger  Searle. 
Rev*^.  Joseph  D  Welton. 
Rev*^.  Asa  Cornwal. 
Rev"^.  Virgil  H  Barber. 
Rev"^.  Bethel  Judd. 
Rev*^.  Jonathan  Judd. 
Rev^.  Elijah  G  Plumb. 
Rev**.  Benjamin  Benham. 
Rev*^.  Reuben  Hubbard 
Rev*^.  Birsey  G.  Nobles — Deacon 

Rev^.  Philo  Shelton  being  the  oldest  Presbyter  took  the  chair 
as  President. 

On  motion  by  M^  Rayner. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Convocation,  the 
Presbyters  &  Deacons  officiating  by  ecclesiastical  authority  in 
this  Diocefs,  are  constitutionally  entitled  to  a  Vote  for  a 
Bishop.— ^'^ 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  half  past  8  OClock  to  morrow. — 

Wednesday  Nov''.  24*^.  half  past  8  OClock,  A.  M. — Convoca- 
tion opened,  &  adjourned  without  day 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary. 

[1814] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Convocation  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  of  Connecticutt,  at  the  house  of  the  Rev*^.  Joseph  D 
Welton,  in  Woodbury  on  Tuesday  the  31^*^.  day  of  June  [May] 
1814. 

^"  Note  XXX. 


Present 
Rev^  Philo  Shelton 
Rev^.  Ashbel   Baldwin 
Rev*^.  Tillotson  Brownson  D.  D. 
Rev**.  Reuben  Ives 
Rev*^.  Chauncey  Prindle 
Rev*^.  Daniel  Bnrhans 
Rev*^.  Bethel  Jtidd 
Rev*^.  Treeman  Marsh 
Rev*^.  Philander  Chase 
Rev*^.  Menzies  Rayner 
Rev*^.  Benjamin  Benham 
Rev*^.  Jasper  D  Jones 
Rev**    Roger  Searle 
Rev**.  David  Baldwin 
Rev**    Elijah  G  Plumb 
Rev**.  Asa  Cornwal 
Rev^.  Sturgis  Gilbert 
Rev**.  Reuben  Hubbard 
Rev**.  Joseph  D  Welton 
Rev**.  Frederick  Holcomb 
Rev**.  Nathaniel  Huse 
Rev^.  Isaac  Jones 
Rev**.  Birdsey  G  Nobles 
Rev^.  M^  Perry  from  the  Diocese  of  New  York 

The  Rev^.  M"".  Shelton  being  the  oldest  Presbyter  present, 

took  the  chair  as  President. — 

The  Rev**.  M'.  Baldwin  was  elected  Secretary. — 
Convocation    was    adjourned    untill    8    OClock    to   morrow 

Morning. 

Wednesday  8  OClock  A.  M. 
Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  adjournment. 
Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  P.  M. 

Wednesday  8  OClock  P.  M 
Convocation  meet  agreeable  to  adjournment. — 
On  motion, 

Resolved  Unanimously,  That  so  soon  as  a  Bishop  shall  be 
consecrated  for  this  Diocese  the  members  of  the  Convocation 


—91— 

will  use  their  influence  in  the  Convention  to  obtain  the  follow- 
ing alteration  in  third  Article  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Church 
in  this  State,  (viz),  after  the  words  "There  shall  be  a  meeting 
of — "All  instituted  Presbyters,  Afsistant  Ministers,  Presbyters 
"employed  in  incorporated  Seminaries  of  Learning,  Presbyters 
"having  no  house  of  publick  worship,"  &c^^ 
Convocation  adjourned  without  day. 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbyters,  &  Deacons  of  the  Diocefs  of 
Connecticut  in  Convocation  holden  at  the  house  of  the  late 
Bishop  Jarvis  in  New  Haven  on  the  25.  day  of  October  1814 
at  5  OClock  P.  M.— 

Present. 
Rev"^.  William  Smith  D.  D. 
Rev"*.  Philo  Shelton 
Rev"*.  Ashbel  Baldwin 
Rev*^.  Tillotson  Brown  son  D.  D. 
Rev*^.  Daniel  Burhans 
Rev'^.  Calvin  White 
Rev*^.  Menzies  Rayner 
Rev^  Bethel  Judd 
Rev'^.  Jonathan  Judd 
Rev^  Elijah  G  Plumb 
Rev^.  Roger  Searle 
Rev*^.  David  Baldwin 
Rev^.  Reuben  Hubbard 
Rev"^.  Joseph  D  Welton 
Rev*^.  Frederick  Holcomb 
Rev*^.  Birdsey  G.  Nobles — Deacon 

Visiting  Bretheren 
Rev*^  Rudd  from  New  Jersey. 

Rev*^  Aron  Humphry  Dea[c]on  Mafsachusetts 

Rev'*.  Philo  Shelton  took  the  Chair. — 

Rev"*.  Bethel  Judd  was  requested  to  deliver  a  Sermon  at  the 
opening  of  the  Convention  to  morrow — And  the  Rev^.  Menzies 
Rayner  was  requested  to  read  the  morning  Prayers. — 
^'  Note  XXXI. 


—92— 


On  motion  by  M^  Nobles — Resolved  that  the  2^  appointed 
Preacher  for  the  next  Convention,  be  the  Reader,  in  case  the 
first  comes  prepared  to  deliver  a  Sermon. — 

Adjourned  without  day. 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary. 

[1816] 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Presbyters  &  Deacons  of  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church  of  Connecticut  holden  at  New  Haven  on 
the  4*^  day  of  June  1816  7  OClock  P.  M.— 

Present 

Rev"^.  William  Smith  D.  D. 

Rev*^.  Philo  Shelton 

Rev"^.  Ashbel  Baldwin 

Rev*^.  Tillotson  Brownson  D.  D. 

Rev*^.  Chauncey  Prindle 

Rev**.  Reuben  Ives 

Rev*^.  Daniel  Burhans 

Rev*^.  Truman  Marsh 

Rev"^.  Bethel  Judd 

Rev"^.  Smith  Miles 

Rev*^.  Menzies  Rayner 

Rev*^.  Jonathan  Judd 

Rev*^.  Roger  Searle 

Rev*^.  Benjamin  Benham 

Rev*^.  Solomon  Blakeley 

Rev*^.  David  Baldwin 

Rev^.  Elijah  G  Plumb 

Rev*^.  Reuben  Hubbard 

Rev^.  Isaac  Jones 

Rev*^.  Asa  Cornwal 

Rev*^.  Jasper  D  Jones 

Rev*^.  Joseph  D  Welton 

Rev*^.  Sturgis  Gilbert 

Rev*^.  Frederick  Holcomb 

Rev'^.  Nathaniel  Huse 

Rev*^.  Birdsey  G  Nobles 

Rev*.  Alpheus  Gear 

Rev*^.  Harry  Croswel 

Rev*^.  Aron  Humphrey 


Deacons 
Rev*^.  Reuben  Sherwood 
Rev*^.  William  J  Buckley 
Rev*^.  David  Belden 


—93— 

A  Petition  from  Ar  Ammi  Rogers  was  handed  in,  read,  and 
ordered  to  lie  on  the  Table. 

Adjourned  untill  8  OClock  to  morrow. — 

Wednesday  Morning  8  OClock  June  5. 
Meet  agreeable  to  adjournment. 
Adjourned  untill  7  OClock  P.  M. 

7  OClock  P.  M. 

Meet  agreeable  to  adjournment. 

The  Petition  of  M^  Ammi  Rogers  together  with  the  docu- 
ments attending  the  same,  were  attended  to,  and  after  a  full 
examination  of  the  same. 

Resolved  That  in  the  Opinion  of  this  House,  they  are  not 
competent  to  take  cognizance  of  said  Petition,  &  that  the  said 
Petition  &  Papers  be  returned  to  M"'.  Rogers. — ^^ 

Convocation  adjourned  without  day. — 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Presbyters  &  Deacons  of  the  P  E 
Church  in  Connecticut  holden  at  New  Haven  on  the  15*^^.  day  of 
October  181 6. 

Present 
Rev*^.  Philo  Shelton 
Rev<^  William  Smith  D.  D. 
Rev"^  Ashbel  Baldwin 
Rev^  Tillotson  Brownson  D.  D.  P.  E.  A 
Rev"^.  Reuben  Ives 
Rev^  Chauncey  Prindle 
Rev*^.  Daniel  Burhans 
Rev*^.  Smith  Miles 
Rev^.  Menzies  Rayner 
Rev*^.  Jonathan  Judd 
Rev*^  Roger  Searle 
Rev^.  Philander  Chase 
Rev"*.  Benjamin  Burham 
Rev^.  David  Baldwin 
Rev"^.  Elijah  G  Plumb 
Rev"*.  Asa  Cornwall  A.  E.  A. 
^'^  Note  XXXII. 


—94— 

Rev*^  Isaac  Jones 
Rev*^.  Joseph  D  Welton 
Rev"^.  Frederick  Holcorab 
Rev'^.  Birdsey  G.  Nobles 
Rev*^.  Alpheus  Gear 
Rev*^.  Harry  Croswell 
Rev*^.  Aron  Humphrey 

Deacons 
Rev*^.  Reuben  Sherwood 
Rev*^.  WilHam  J.  Buckley 

Visiting  Brethren 
Rev*^.  Barzilla  Buckley  ^ 

Rev*^.  Alanson  Welton    >  Dioces  of  New  York 
Rev*^.  Joseph  Perry        ) 
Rev*^.  William  Cranson,  Deacon,  State  of  Georgia 

Rev^  Philo  Shelton,  President 

Resolved— That  Rev^.  M"^  Croswill  &  Rev-^.  M"^  Burhans  be 
a  Committee  to  wait  on  the  Right  Rev*^.  Bishop  Hobart  &  invite 
him  to  take  a  seat  in  this  Convocation. — 

The  Right  Rev*^.  Bishop  Hobart  took  a  seat  accordingly. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  9  OClock  to  morrow. — 

Wednesday  16*^ 
Convocation  opened  agreeable  to  adjournment 
Adjourned  without  day. 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary. 

[1817] 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Presbyters  &  Deacons  of  the  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  Church  of  Connecticut  holden  at  the  house  of 
the  Rev.  David  Baldwin  in  Guilford  on  the  3*^.  day  of  June  1817. 

Rev.  Philo  Shelton  Chairman 

Rev  Birdsey  G.  Noble  Sec  Pro.  Tern. 

Subject  moved  for  consideration — Can  we  constitutionally 
proceed  to  the  election  of  a  Bishop  at  the  annual  Convention  to 
be  holden  to  morrow. 


—95— 

The  decision  of  this  question  was  postponed  untill  to  morrow. 
Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  to  morrow   Morn- 
ing.— 

Wednesday  June  4*^^ 

'  8  OClock  A.  M. 
Convocation  opened. 

Present 

Rev.  Philo  Shelton 

"  Ashbel  Baldwin 

"  Tillotson  Brownson  D  D.  P.  E.  A. 

"  Daniel  Burhans 

"  Smith  Miles 

"  Calvin  White 

"  Solomon  Blakely 

"  Jonathan  Judd 

"  Roger  Searle 

"  Menzies  Rayner 

"  Elijah  G  Plumb 

"  Benjamin  Benham 

"  Jasper  D  Jones 

"  Nathan  B  Burgis 

"  David  Baldwin 

"  Reuben  Hubbard 

"  Frederick  Holcomb 

"  Birdsey  G  Noble 

"  Sturgis  G  Gilbert 

"  Aaron  Humphrey 

"  Alpheus  Gear 

"  Reuben  Sherwood 

"  Harry  Croswell 

"  Charles  Smith  | 

"  Jonathan  Wainright  i  Deacons 

Rev.  Philo  Shelton  in  the  Chair 
Rev  Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary. 

The  question  as  to  the  constitutionality  of  proceeding  to  the 
election  of  a  Bishop  at  the  anual  Convention  was  indefinately 
postponed. 

Convocation  adjourned  without  day 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretarv 


[l82l] 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Bishop,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  Connecticut  holden  at  the 
house  of  the  Rev  Alpheus  Gear  in  Waterbury  on  the  5^*^.  day 
of  June  1 82 1  at  8  OClock  P.  M. 

Present 
Right  Rev.  Thomas  C  Brownell  D.  D.  L  L  D. 
Philo  Shelton  Rv.  Isaac  Jones 


Rev. 


Ashbel  Baldwin 
Tillotson  Brownson  P. 
Reuben  Ives 
Chauncey  Prindle 
Truman  Marsh 
Daniel  B  urban  s 
Menzies  Reyner 
Asa  Cornwall  A  E  A 
Benjamin  Benham 
Smith  Miles 
David  Baldwin 
Jonathan  Judd 
Nathan  B  Burgis 
Frederick  Holcomb 


E.  A 


Birdsey  G  Noble 
Stirges  Gilbert 
Joseph  D  Welton 
Alpheus  Gear 
Harry  Croswell 
Reuben  Sherwood 
Charles  Smith 
Joseph  Perry 
Rodney  Rofsiter 
Peter  G  Clark 
Nath  S  Wheaton 
Origen  P  Holcomb 


Deacons 
Rev.  Daniel  Summers 
"      Ambrose  Todd 
"      Beardsley  Northrop 
"      George  B  Andrews 

The  Rev.  Reuben  Ives,  Rev  Truman  Marsh,  &  Rev  Benjamin 
Benham  were  appointed  a  Committee,  to  prepare  a  Constitution 
for  the  establishment  of  a  Society  for  the  relief  of  decayed 
Clergymen,  &  the  necesitous  Widows  &  Orphans  of  Clergy- 
men.— 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  8  OClock  to  Morrow  Morning. — 

Wednesday  8.  OClock  A.  M. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  plan  of  a  Constitution 
for  the  Society  to  be  called  the  Society  for  the  relief  of  decayed 
Clergymen  &c.  made  a  report,  which  was  read  &  ordered  to  lie 
on  the  Table. — ^^ 

^'  Note  xxxin. 


-^7— 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  7  OClock  to  morrow  morning. 
Thursday  7  OClock  A.  M. 

Convocation  opened  agreeable  to  adjournment. 

The  Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  subject  of  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Society  for  relief  of  decayed  Clergymen  &c.  was  read 
by  Paragraphs. — 

On  motion  Resolved,  that  a  further  consideration  of  s**. 
Report  be  postponed  untill  the  next  meeting  of  Convocation. — 

Convocation  adjourned  untill  the  first  Wednesday  in  Sep- 
tember, then  to  be  holden  in  the  Town  of  Cheshire. — 

Ashbel  Baldwin  Secretary. 
Rec<^.  Dec  2(f'.  1824 

At  a  Convocation  held  at  Cheshire  Sept  6.  1821,  agreeably 
to  the  appointment  of  the  Bishop  at  8  o'clock  P.  M. 

Present. 
The  Rt  Rev  T  C  Brownel,  D  D.  L  L  D. 
The  Rev  T.  Brownson — D.  D. 
D.  Burhans. 
T.  Marsh 
M  Rayner 
R.  Ives 
A.  Cornwall 

F.  Hoi  comb 

D.  Baldwin 
S.  Miles 

B  G  Noble 
H.  Croswell 

E.  Gear — 
R.  Rofsiter 
O.  Holcomb 
C.  Smith 

G.  Andrews 
A.  Todd 

J.  Jones 

The  Rev  B  G  Noble  was  appointed  secretary  in  the  absence 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Convention. 

Resolved  that  a  Committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  take 

7 


—98— 

into  consideration  such  known  diversities  of  practice,  as  may 
exist  among  the  clergy  of  this  Diocese,  &  to  suggest  those 
particulars  on  which  in  their  judgment  it  is  desirable  there 
should  be  uniformity. 

The  Rev.  M^^^".  Marsh,  Rayner  and  Burhans  were  appointed 
on  this  committee 

The  Convocation  adjourned  to  eight  o'clock  P.  M. 

The  Convocation  afsembled  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

The  following  resolutions  were  adopted 

Resolved  that  the  Clergy  use  the  anti  Communion  Service 
every  Sunday  in  the  year — except  under  those  circumstances 
which  necefsarily  prevent 

Resolved  that  it  be  recommended  to  the  Clergy  to  read  the 
anti  communion  Service  from  the  Chancel  on  Communion 
Sundays. 

Resolved  that  the  Congregation  be  dismifsed,  previous  to 
the  Communion  Service  with  a  Collect  &  the  shorter  benediction. 

Resolved,  unanimously,  that  the  Lord's  prayer  be  omitted 
before  Sermon. 

Resolved  unanimously,  that  a  Collect  be  used  before  sermon. 

Resolved,  that  the  Clergy  instruct  their  choir  to  close  every 
Psalm  &  Hymn  with  the  doxology. 

The  following  communication  was  received  from  the  Trustees 
of  the  Episcopal  Academy  by  their  secretary.  Resolved  that 
the  Convocation  of  the  clergy  of  this  Diocefs  be  requested  to 
enquire  into  the  course  &  modes  of  study  pursued  in  this 
Academy,  &  that  the  said  committee  be  requested  to  give  their 
opinion  concerning  the  general  state  of  the  Institution. 

Resolved,  that  the  above  request  be  complied  with. 

Dr.  Bronson  was  requested  to  nominate  the  Committee. 

The  Rev.  M^'"'"'.  Marsh,  F.  Holcomb,  &  Wheaton  were  nomi- 
nated and  appoint  [ed]. 

The  Convocation  adjourned  sine  die. 

T.  C.  Brownell  President 
B  G  Noble  Sec. 

[1822] 

Journal  of  the  proceedings  of  the  special  Convocation  of  the 
Clergy  of  the  Diocese  held  at  the  house  of  the  Rt.  Rev  T.  C 
Brownell  DD.  LL.D.  New  Haven  Dec.  18.  1822. 


Present.     Rt.  Rev.  T.  C  Brownell,  D.  D. 
Rev.  T..  Bronson  DD. 
"      P..  Shelton 
R..  Ives 
M..  Rayner 
D..  Baldwin 
F..  Holcomb 
B  G.  Noble 
H.  Croswell 
R.  Sherwood 
A.  Cornwall 
J.  Perrey 
O  P.  Holcomb 
D..  Northrop 
N.  S.  Wheaton 

Garfield 
J.  Buckley 
H.  R  Judah 

The  Rev.  B.  G  Noble  Secretary. 

Resolved  unanimously  that  it  is  expedient  to  establish  a 
College  in  this  State  which  shall  be  under  the  direction  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  this  Diocese.^* 

Resolved 

That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  draw  up  a  memorial  pray- 
ing the  Legislature  for  a  charter  on  Condition  that  funds  to 
the  amount  of  $35,000  be  obtained,  to  procure  subscribers  &  to 
lay  the  memorial  before  the  next  legislature  of  this  state. 

Resolved 

That  the  several  Clergymen  of  this  Diocese,  in  aid  of  the 
Committee  shall  request  their  parishoners  to  sign  said  memorial. 

That  the  said  Committee  consist  of  three  Clergymen  and 
three  laymen — 

The  Rt.  Rev  T.  C.  Brownell 

The  Rev.  H.  Croswell 

The  Rev  N.  S.  Wheaton 

The  Hon  E.  Boardman 
Nathan  Smith 
Charles  Sigourney  Esqs 
^  Note  XXXIV. 


— 100 — 

were  appointed  with  power  to  fill  up  the  vacancies  which  may 
occur  in  their  number. 

Resolved  that  New  Haven,  Middletown  &  Hartford  be  the 
places  named  for  the  Location  in  the  memorial. 

Resolved 

That  the  final  Location  be  determined  by  the  Convention. 
Reconsidered. 

Resolved,  that  the  final  location  be  determined  by  the  Trus- 
tees to  be  appointed  by  the  Convention. 

After  Prayers  by  the  Bishop  the  Convocation  adjourned 

Attest.        B  G  Noble  Sec. 
[One  page  is  left  blank  here.] 

[1824] 

Cheshire  Nov..  24..  1824 
The  Convocation  afsembled  agreeably  to  appointment  by  the 
Bishop,   &  2.   O'clock  attended   divine   Service   in   St.   Peters 
Church. 

Prayers  were  read  by  the  Rev  M'  Doane  &  a  sermon  deliv- 
ered by  the  Bishop. 

The  Convocation  met  at  the  house  of  the  Rev  A  Cornwall,  at 
6  O'clock  P.  M. 

Present 

Rt  Rev.  T.  C.  Brownell  D.  D. 
Rev.  T.  Bronson  D  D. 
''    R.  Ives 
P.  Shelton 
D.  Burhans 
A.  Baldwin 
A.  Cornwall 
Rev.  R.  Rofsiter  D.  Baldwin 

J.  Keeler  B  G  Noble 

A.  Todd  H.  Croswell 

L.  Hull  R.  Sherwood 

Doane  A.  Gear 

H  M.  Mason  N.  S.  Wheaton 

E —  Ives  P.  G.  Clarke 

W".  Jarvis  O  P.  Holcomb 


— lOI — 

The  Rev.  B.  G.  Noble  was  Chosen  Secretary 

The  Bishop  from  the  Chair  proposed  for  the  consideration  of 
the  Convention  the  subject  of  reviving  the  Churchman's  Maga- 
zine. He  then  presented  &  read  a  Letter  from  the  Rev  D'. 
Jarvis  containing  propositions  from  the  Editors  of  the  Gospel 
Advocate  for  the  union  of  the  two  works. 

The  Bishop  then  requested  the  Rev  B.  G  Noble  to  lay  before 
the  Convocation  the  plan  for  reviving  the  magazine  which  he 
had  exhibited  to  him.  The  plan  was  to  divide  the  Cost  of  pub- 
lication into  shares  &  to  put  the  Magazine  to  the  Holders  of 
shares  at  Cost,  to  increase  the  size  of  the  work  to  40  pages  & 
the  price  to  $2.00.  After  some  discussion  the  plan  was 
rejected. 

The  union  proposed  by  the  Editors  of  the  Gospel  advocate 
was  also  rejected. 

Resolved 

That  it  is  expedient  to  revive  the  Magazine  in  this  Diocese — ^^ 

That  an  Editor  be  appointed  by  ballot. 

On  balloting  the  Rev  D'.  Bronson  was  appointed 

A  contribution  was  then  taken  up  in  Convention  [Convoca- 
tion] to  afsist  in  defraying  the  expenses  of  printing  prospectus 
&c,  amount  obtained  was  $2.75.  which  was  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  Editor. 

On  motion  by  the  Rev  M"  Croswell  the  thanks  of  the  Con- 
vocation was  presented  to  the  Bishop  for  his  discourse  delivered 
before  the  Convocation. 

After  Prayers  by  the  Bishop  the  Convention  adjourned  Sine 
Die. 

Birdsey  G  Noble 

Secretary. 
Cheshire  Nov.  24,  1824. 


[1825] 

Nov..  10..  1825. 
The  Convocation  at  the  house  of  the  Rev  Sturgis  Gilbert 
Woodbury,  this  day  at  4.  OClock,  agreeably  to  appointment  by 
the  Bishop 
^^  Note  XXXV. 


102 

Present, 
The  Rt.  Rev  T.  C.  Brownell  D  D 
Rev  T  Bronson 

D.  Burhans 
T,  Marsh 
M.  Rayner 

A.  Cornwall 
J.  Jones 

E.  J.  Ives 

B.  Benham 
Somers 

S.  Gilbert 
R.  Rofsiter 
N.  S.  Wheaton 

The  Secretary  being  absent  the  Rev  N.  S.  Wheaton  was 
chosen  Secretary  pro.  Tempore. 

Resolved  that  it  is  expedient  to  altar  the  Constitution  so 
that  the  Annual  Convention  of  this  Diocese  shall  be  held  on 
the  second  Wednesday  in  May. 

The  Convocation  adjourned  until  7.  O'clock. 

The  convocation  met  at  7  O'clock  &  after  a  desultory  con- 
versation adjourned  Sine  Die 

N.  S.  Wheaton 

Sec  pro.  tern. 

Nov.  II..  1825. 

True  Copy  of  the  original  Record 
Birdsey  G.  Noble  Secretary 

Middletown,  Jan=^.  27..  1826 

[Eleven  pages  are  left  blank  here.] 

At  a  Convocation  of  the  Clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut 
held  at  the  house  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  T.  C.  Brownell  D.  D.  L.  L.  D. 
Hartford  on  Wednesday  June  i^*.  1825. 

Present    The  Rt.  Rev.  T.  C.  Brownell  DDLLD. 
The  Rev.  G.  B  Andrews 
"      A.   Baldwin 
"      D.  Baldwin 
"       "      S.  Beach 


— 103— 

The  Rev.  B.  Benham 

"  T.  Bronson.  D  D. 

"  N.  Burgesf 

"  D.  Burhans 

"  P.  G.  Clarke 

"  H.  Croswell 

"  G.  W.  Doane 

"  J.  M.  Garfield 

"  A.  Gear 

"  S.  Gilbert 

"  F.  Holcomb 

"  O.  P.  Holcomb 

"       "  Lem^  B  Hull 

"        "  Hector  Humphrey 

"  R.  Ives 

"  E.  J.  Ives 

"  W  Jarvis 

.     "        "  S.  Jewett 

"  J.  Jones 

"  H  R  Judah 

"  B. Judd 

"  T.  Marsh 

"  B  G  Noble 

"SB  Paddock 

"  R  Rofsiter 

"  R.  Sherwood 

"  A.  Steele 

"  A  S.  Todd 

"  R.  Warner 

"  N.  S  Wheaton 

Resolved  that  this  Convocation  entertain  a  deep  sense  of  the 
lofs  they  have  sustained  in  the  death  of  their  late  Brethren  the 
Rev  Philo  Shelton  &  the  Rev  Davis  Welton ;  &  that  the  Presi- 
dent &  secretary  communicate  to  the  widows  &  families  of  the 
deceased,  the  afsurance  of  their  Condolence  &  sympathy  under 
this  afflicting  dispensation  of  Divine  Providence. 

Some  observations  &  enquiries  were  made  Concerning  the 
Churchmans  Magazine. 

The  Convocation  adjourned  sine  Die. 

T.  C.  Brownel 

President 

B  G  Noble.  Sec 


— 104 — 

Agreeably  to  the  Resolution  of  the  Convocation  the  President 
&  Secretary  addrefsed  the  following  Letters  to  M'^^  Shelton  & 
M™.  Welton. 

Copy  of  the  Letter  to  M".  Shelton. 

Hartford  June  2..  1825 
Dear  Madam. 

The  absence  of  your  late  husband  from  the  recent  Convention 
of  the  Church,  could  not  fail  to  excite  in  the  minds  of  his  sur- 
viving brethren  a  painful  sense  of  the  lofs  which  they,  in  com- 
mon with  yourself,  your  family  &  the  Church,  have  sustained  in 
his  decease.  We  transmit  you  the  enclosed  resolution,  expres- 
sive of  their  estimation  of  his  worth,  &  of  their  sympathy  in 
your  affliction  under  your  bereavement.  We  beg  you  will 
accept  it  as  a  token  of  our  affectionate  respect  &  consideration, 
though  we  trust  you  needed  no  such  formal  expression  of  our 
sentiments.  Forty  years  of  faithful  labour  in  the  vineyard  of 
his  divine  Master,  a  manifest  devotion  to  the  best  interests  of 
the  Church,  &  a  character  distinguished  for  Christian  symplicity, 
had  secured  for  your  deceased  husband  a  united  &  affectionate 
attachment  of  his  clerical  Brethren,  which  few  of  his  survivors 
can  hope  to  surpafs.  It  must  be  some  consolation  to  you  that 
his  memory  is  duly  Cherished,  but  it  is  a  still  higher  consolation 
to  reflect,  that  all  those  amiable  qualities  &  Christian  virtues 
which  endeared  him  to  his  earthly  friends,  served  to  Constitute 
his  preparation  for  that  better  world,  where  they  will  find  their 
appropriate  sphere,  &  where  they  will  be  perfected  for  a  still 
more  elevated  service  of  his  God  and  his  Redeemer. 

Permit  us  Dear  Madam  to  add  the  afsurance  of  our  personal 
respect  &  esteem ;  &  may  that  gracious  being  who  is  the  widows 
God,  &  the  orphans  Father,  blefs,  preserve  &  keep  you,  &  may 
he  sanctify  to  you  &  your  children,  as  well  as  to  the  surviving 
clergy  of  the  Diocese,  the  present  afflictive  dispensation  of  his 
providence. 

T.  C.  Brownell 
B  G  Noble 

M'■^  Shelton 


—105— 
Copy  of  the  Letter  to  M"  Welton 

Hartford,  June  5..  1825 
Dear  Madam; — 

We  enclose  a  resolution  expressive  of  the  sense  which  the 
clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut  entertain  of  the  worth  of 
their  deceased  Brother,  your- late  Husband,  &  of  their  sympathy 
in  your  affliction  under  the  present  bereavement.  Permit  us  to 
add  our  prayers  that  he  who  orders  all  things  in  wisdom  &  in 
mercy,  may  fill  your  heart  with  all  the  consolations  of  the  Gospel, 
&  that  he  may  sanctify  to  you  &  the  surviving  Brethren  of  the 
deceased  this  dispensation  of  his  Providence. 

T.  C  Brownell 
B  G  Noble 
M'^.  Welton 

[1826] 

[Newtown,]  June  6..  1826.. 
The  Convocation  met  agreeably  to  appointment  at  the  house 
of  the  Rev  D.  Burhans.     Prayers  by  the  secretary. 
Adjourned  until  eight  O'clock  to  morrow 

Wednesday  8.  O'clock  A  M 

The  Convocation  afsembled  in  the  town  house 

Present  the  Bishop  &  several  of  the  Clergy. 

A  constitution  for  the  Society  for  the  relief  of  the  widows 
&  orphans  of  Clergymen  lying  upon  the  table  was  read.  The 
consideration  of  the  subject  was  posponed. 

The  subject  of  the  Connecticut  Society  for  the  Promotion  of 
Christian  Knowledge  was  taken  up  informally  &  after  some 
discufsion  was  posponed. 

The  subject  of  Sunday  Schools  was  presented  for  considera- 
tion &  a  committee  was  appointed  to  report  on  the  subject. 

The  Rev  B  G  Noble  &  the  Rev  B.  Judd  were  appointed  on 
that  committee. 

The  Rev.  M'  Rayner  obtained  liberty  to  make  a  statement  in 
relation  to  a  law  suit  in  which  he  was  interested. 

The  Rev.  M""  Barlow  obtained  liberty  to  address  the  Con- 
vocation on  a  plan  for  a  society  which  he  had  originated,  but 


— io6 — 

in  consequence  of  want  of  time,  &  at  his  own  request  it  was 
defered  in  order  to  be  made  to  the  Convention.^® 
The  Convention  adjourned  Sine  Die 

T.  C.  Brownel  Pres. 

B  G  Noble  Sec. 

[Another  record  of  this  meeting^  will  be  found  on  pages  ii8, 
iig.] 

[One  page  is  left  blank  here.] 

1826..  New  Haven  Teusday  Oct  3*^.  1826 

The  Convocation  afsembled  at  the  Lecture  room  of  the  Rev. 

M'.  Croswell  at  10.  O'clock  agreeably  to  appointment  by  the 

Bishop. 

Present  the  Rev  Truman  Marsh 
Isaac  Jones 
James  Keeler 
Peter.  G.  Clarke 
Reuben  Sherwood 
Nathaniel  Bruce 
Edward  Rutledge 
W".  Shelton 
Rev.  Nathaniel  S.  Wheaton  George  Shelton 

Birdsey  G  Noble  Potter 

Harry  Croswell  George  W  Doane 

Lem^  B  Hull  Menzies  Rayner 

Hector  Humphreys  Joseph  Perry 

Fred^.  Holcomb  Asa  Cornwall 

Daniel  Burhans.  Ashbell  Baldwin 

David  Baldwin 
W".  Jarvis 
J.  M  Garfield 
Orson  V.  Howell 

The  Bishop  was  prevented  from  attending  by  the  illnefs  of  a 
member  of  his  family. 

The  Rev.  Truman  Marsh  was  appointed  to  the  chair. 
The  Secretary  opened  the  Convocation  by  Prayers. 
Resolved 

That  a  Committee  of  two  be  appointed  to  confer  with  the 
2^  Note  XXXVI. 


— 107 — 

Rev.  B,  G.  Noble  on  the  subject  of  the  Churchmans  Magazine, 
&  that  they  report  at  the  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Convocation 
such  measure  as  they  may  judge  expedient  to  be  adopted  to 
secure  its  continuance. 

The  Rev  M""  Hull  &  the  Rev  M""  Croswell  were  appointed  on 
this  Committee. 

It  having  been  stated  that  the  Rev.  M"^  Doane  who  was 
appointed  to  preach  before  the  Convocation  would  probably  be 
unable  to  fulfill  the  appointment,  it  was — 

Resolved  that  the  Rev  M'  Croswell  be  requested  in  that  case 
to  obtain  a  preacher. 

The  lofs  which  this  Convocation  &  the  Church  in  Connecticut 
have  sustained  in  the  death  of  our  much  respected  &  venerable 
Brother  the  Rev  Tillotson  Bronson  D.  D..  Principal  of  the 
Episcopal  Academy  &  Editor  of  the  Churchman's  Magazine 
having  been  stated,  it  was 

Resolved  that  blank  be  a  Committee  to  addrefs  a  Letter 

of  condolence  to  the  family  of  our  Late  Brother. 

The  Rev  B  G  Noble  &  the  Rev  A  Cornwall  were  appointed 
on  this  Committee. 

The  Rev  M^  Rutledge  stated  that  he  had  documents  in  his 
pofsefsion,  to  shew  that  the  Somaster  Library  now  deposited  in 
the  Episcopal  Academy  at  Cheshire  by  a  resolution  of  the  Con- 
vocation, belonged  to  the  Parish  of  Church  at  Strat- 
ford— whereupon  the  following  preamble  &  resolution,  after 
reading  the  documents,  were  adopted — 

Whereas  it  appears  that  the  books  presented  heretofore  by  the 
Convocation  to  the  Library  of  Cheshire  Academy,  by  Docu- 
ments laid  before  us,  appear  to  have  been  given  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Parish  at  Stratford,  &  not  to  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut — 
Therefore 

Resolved  that  said  Books  be  delivered  to  such  person,  or  per- 
sons as  may  be  authorized  by  said  Parish  to  receive  them. 

The  subject  of  a  general  Sunday  School  Society  was  men- 
tioned with  reference  to  the  circular  ifsued  by  the  P.  E.  Sund. 
S.  Soc.  of  Philadelphia,  &  after  some  discusion  the  following 
resolution  was  adopted. 

Resolved  that  be  a  Committee  on  the  Subject  of  a 

General  Sunday  school  Society. 


— io8— 

The  Rev  B  G  Noble  &  the  Rev  Edward  Rutledge  were 
appointed  on  this  Committee. 

Resolved  that  be  a  Committee  on  the  subject  of  the 

publication  of  Tracts. 

The  Rev  H.  Croswell  &  the  Rev.  N.  S.  Wheaton  were  ap- 
pointed on  this  Committee. 

Teusday  2.  O'clock  P.  M. 

Public  Service  was  attended  in  Trinity  Church 

Prayers  were  Read  by  the  Rev  George  Shelton  &  a  Sermon 
delivered  by  the  Rev  E  Rutledge. 

The  Convocation  afsembled  after  Divine  Service  in  the  Tower 
of  the  church. 

The  Committee  on  the  subject  of  the  Churchman's  Magazine 
reported  verbally  that  the  Rev  B  G  Noble  had  generously  vol- 
unteered to  conduct  the  magazine  through  the  remaining  six 
Nos  of  the  present  volume,  with  the  afsistance  of  the  Clergy, 
&  to  publish  two  numbers  a  month,  in  order  to  complete  the 
volume  by  the  first  of  January,  that  the  way  may  be  opened  for 
a  new  paper,  &  that  the  family  of  the  late  Editor  may  be  saved 
from  lofs.  The  Committee  also  reported  that  they  deemed  its 
continuance  in  some  shape  expedient  &  that  they  concurred  in 
the  expediency  of  a  weekly  paper  under  a  new  title.  In  con- 
sequence of  a  correspondence  between  the  Editor  of  the  Gos. 
Advocate  &  the  Rev  B  G  Noble  in  relation  to  a  union  of  the 
publications  in  which  they  were  respectfully  concerned,  no 
decisive  measure  was  adopted. 

A  Letter  from  the  Bishop  was  received  &  read. 

Resolved  that  the  Letter  be  referred  to  blank  Committee. 

The  Rev  H.  Croswell  &  Rev  N.  S  Wheaton  were  appointed 
on  this  Committee 

The  Convocation  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  Lecture  room  at 
half  past  six  O'clock. 

The  Committee  on  the  subjects  of  the  Bishop's  Letter  to  the 
Convocation  submitted  the  following  Report,  which  was  adopted. 

Resolved,  That  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  be  requested  with 
the  aid  &  advice  of  such  of  his  Presbyters  as  he  may  see  fit  to 
consult  on  the  subject,  to  concert  measures  for  establishing  a 
periodical  publication  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Church 
either  in  Connection   with,   or  independently  of  the   Eastern 


— 109 — 

Diocese,  &  that  such  publication  Commence  on  the  discontin- 
uance of  the  Churchman's  Magazine,  or  as  soon  after  as  may 
be  practicable. 

The  Committee  on  the  Subject  of  a  General  Sunday  School 
[Society]  submitted  the  following  Report  which  was  adopted. 

Whereas  this  Convocation  have  understood  from  a  Circular 
ifsued  in  Philadelphia  that  one  of  the  objects  which  will  occupy 
the  attention  of  the  next  General  Convention  is  the  establish- 
ment of  a  General  Sunday  [School]  Society,  Therefore 

Resolved,  that  the  Delegates  from  this  State  be  requested  to 
give  afsurance  of  the  hearty  approval  of  such  an  object  on  the 
part  of  this  meeting  &  to  aid  in  accomplishing  it. 

The  Committee  on  the  Subject  of  tracts  submitted  the  fol- 
lowing report  which  was  adopted. 

Resolved  that  the  Bishop  with  [  ],  be  a  committee  to 

select  &  prepare  for  Publication  such  tracts  as  they  may  deem 
useful  to  the  Church,  &  that  they  be  &  hereby  are  authorized 
to  contract  with  some  bookseller  for  the  publication  of  said 
Tracts,  on  his  own  responsibility,  in  the  same  manner  &  at  the 
same  rate  as  the  tracts  of  the  American  tract  Society.^^ 

Resolved  that  we  will  use  our  endeavours  to  promote  the 
circulation  of  said  Tracts  in  our  respective  Parishes. 

The  Rev  M''  Croswell  &  the  Rev  M'  Doane  were  appointed 
with  the  Bishop  on  this  Committee. 

The  Rev  B  G  Noble  introduced  the  subject  of  Washington 
College  &  stated  the  interest  which  in  our  individual  &  collective 
capacity  we  were  bound  to  feel  in  the  Prosperity  of  that  Institu- 
tion. And  in  consequence  of  the  discusion  which  took  place 
the  following  resolution  offered  by  M"".  Doane  was  adopted. 

Resolved  that  the  Bishop  &  the  clerical  delegates  to  the  next 
General  Convention  be  a  committee  to  devise  a  plan  for  afsisting 
indigent  &  deserving  young  men  members  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  obtaining  a  Collegiate  Education  at  Institu- 
tions under  the  control  of  that  Church 

Birdsey  G.  Noble 
Secretary  of  Convocation. 

Copy  of  the  Letter  addrefsed  to  the  family  of  the  Rev  T. 
Bronson  D.  D.  late  a  member  of  the  Convocation 

''  Note  xxxvii. 


Middletown  Nov.  1826 
To  the  Children 

of  the  Late  D"".  T.  Bronson 
Beloved : 
The  absence  of  your  late  venerable  &  excellent  Father 
from  the  Convocation  of  the  Clergy  of  this  Diocese  afsembled 
at  New  Haven  Oct.  3*^.  could  not  but  excite  in  the  breast  of^^ 

[The  rest  of  this  page  is  blank.] 

[1827] 

Hartford  June  5^^  1827 

Agreeably  to  appointment  by  the  Bishop,  the  Convocation 
afsembled  at  his  house  in  the  afternoon,  &  without  coming  [to] 
order  agreed  to  meet  on  Wednesday  morning  at  eight  O'clock 
June  6..  1827 — 

Wednesday  June  6'\  8  O'clock  P.  M.  [A.  M.] 

The  Convocation  afsembled  in  Christ  Church 

Prayers  by  the  Rev.  B  G  Noble. 

The  Bishop  took  the  chair. 

The  list  of  the  clergy  was  called  over. 

[A  blank  space  is  left  here.] 

An  enquiry  was  made  concerning  the  publication  of  Tracts. 

A  statement  was  made  concerning  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Sunday  School  Union. 

The  Bishop  presented  for  consideration  the  subject  of  a 
General  Education  Society. 

The  subject  of  Cheshire  Academy  was  introduced  &  was  dis- 
cussed at  some  length. 

The  Rev  A  Baldwin  in  the  chair  in  the  absence  of  the  Bishop. 

On  motion  the  Convocation  adjourned  to  half  past  6  O'clock 
in  the  afternoon. 

half  past  6  O'clock  P.  M. 

The  Convocation  afsembled  pursuant  to  adjournment — 

On  motion  the  Convocation  adjourned  Sine  Die 

B  G  Noble 

Secretary. 

^8  Note  XXXVIII. 


— Ill — 

Convocation  at  Stratford. 
The  Rev  G.  W.  Doane,  was  appointed  Secretary  pro  tern. — 

[The  rest  of  this  page  and  three  following  pages  are  left 
blank.] 

[1828] 

Norwalk  June  5^^.  1828 
The  Convocation  afsembled  agreeably  to  appointment  at  the 

house  of  the  Rev.  R.  Sherwood.     Present  the  Bishop  and  several 

of  the  Clergy.     Prayers  by  the  Secretary. 
Adjourned  to  8  oclock  on  the  6*^. 

June  6^^  8  oclock  A.  M. 
The  Convocation  afsembled  in  the  Academy. 
Moved  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  take  into  considera- 
tion the  state  of  the  Parishes  &  to  report  to  this  Convocation 
such  measures  as  they  may  deem  expedient. 
The  Committee  were 

The  Rev  D.  Burhans 
H.  Croswell 
N.  S.  Wheaton 

Moved  that  a  society  be  formed  for  the  relief  of  the  widows  & 
orphans  of  Clergyman. 

Moved  that  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  report  a  plan  for  the 
formation  of  such  a  Society  to  the  next  convocation. 
The  Committed  were 

The  Rev.  M^  Rutledge 
"      "     Sherwood 

The  Rev.  Ashbel  Baldwin  in  the  chair 

On  motion  the  Convocation  adjourned  subject  to  the  order 
of  the  Bishop. — 

[End  of  the  records  in  the  first  volume.] 


-112- 


[The  following  records  are  from  the  second  volume.] 


[1829] 

Cheshire  Oct..  14..  1829. 

The  Convocation  afsembled  agreeably  to  appointment  by  the 
Bishop,  &  at  half  past  10  O'clock  attended  Divine  Service  in 
S*.  Peter's  Church. 

Prayers  were  read  by  the  Rev.  M'.  Hull,  &  a  sermon  delivered 
by  the  Rev.  H.  Potter. 

The  Convocation  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  Episcopal  Acad- 
emy at  3  O'clock  this  afternoon. 

The  Convocation  met  according  to  adjournment.  Prayers  by 
the  Bishop. 

Present.     The  Rt  Rev.  T.  C.  Brownell  D.D.L.L.D. 
The  Rev.  Ashbel  Baldwin     The  Rev.  Rodney  Rofsiter 


David  Baldwin 
W".  Barlow 
Daniel  Burhans 
Peter  G.  Clarke 
Asa  Cornwall 
Harry  Croswell 
C.  F,  Cruse 
Alpheus  Geer 
Frederick  Holcomb 
Lemuel  B.  Hull 
Hector  Humphreys 
Reuben  Ives. 
W".  Jar  vis 
James  Keeler 
Horatio  Potter 
W"^.  T.  Potter 


Nathaniel  S  Wheaton 

The  Rev.  M"^.  Adams  from 
the  Diocese  of  New  York 
was  invited  to  attend  the 
sittings  of  the  Convoca- 
tion. 


The  subject  of  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Christian 
Knowledge  was  introduced  by  the  Rev.  M'.  Wheaton,  &  after 
some  discufsion  as  to  the  best  mode  of  increasing  its  funds, 
The  following  resolution  was  on  motion  adopted. 

Resolved  that  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  take  into  consid- 
eration the  propriety  of  revising  the  constitution  of  the  "Society 


—113— 

for  p[r]omoting  Christian  Knowledge,"  with  power  to  make 
such  alterations  as  may  be  deemed  expedient,  &  to  report  the 
same  to  the  next  Convention.  The  Standing  Committee  were 
appointed  to  perform  that  duty. 

The  subject  of  a  contemplated  mifsion  to  Western  &  South- 
western States  by  the  R*.  Rev.  Bp.  Brownell  agreeably  to  a 
request  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Domestic  &  Foreign 
Mifsionary  Society  was  brought  before  the  Convocation.  On 
motion,  Resolved,  that  a  Committee  of  three  be  appointed  to 
frame  a  report  in  relation  to  the  measure  proposed  above.  The 
Rev.  M^  Croswell,  the  Rev.  M^  Burhans  &  the  Rev.  M\ 
Wheaton  were  appointed. 

On  Motion  the  following  resolution  was  passed  unanimously. 
Resolved  by  the  Convocation,  that  the  clergy  will  present  with 
their  Parochial  reports  to  the  next  Annual  Convention,  a  particu- 
lar account  of  their  respective  Sunday  Schools,  which  shall  indi- 
cate the  number  of  Teachers  employed,  &  of  the  children 
instructed;  &  especially  the  course  of  instruction  pursued,  & 
the  date,  wherever  such  shall  be  the  fact,  of  their  connexion 
with  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Sunday  School  Union. 

On  motion  adjourned  till  7  O'clock  this  evening. — 

7  O'clock  P.  M. 

The  Convocation  met  pursuant  to  adjournmt. — 

The  committee  appointed  on  the  subject  of  the  R^  Rev.  Bp. 
Brownell's  contemplated  tour,  reported  the  following  Preamble 
&  Resolution,  which  were  unanimously  adopted,  &  ordered  to 
be  published  in  the  Episcopal  Watchman : — 

Whereas  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  of  this  Diocese  has  been  re- 
quested by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Domestic  &  Foreign 
Mifsionary  Society  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  to 
"visit  that  portion  of  our  Country  which  lie'  West  &  South  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains,  to  perform  Episcopal  services  wher- 
ever they  may  be  desired,  to  examine  into  the  condition  of  the 
Mifsions  established  by  the  Board,  ^&  to  take  a  general  survey 
of  the  country,  for  the  purpose  of  designating  such  Mifsionary 
Stations  as  may  hereafter  be  usefully  established :"  &  whereas 
the  Executive  Committee  of  the  said  Society  have  expressed  a 
"hope  that  the  Clergy  of  this  Diocese,  now  afsembled  in  Convo- 
cation may  be  induced  to  grant  to  their  Bishop  a  free  release 
from  his  Diocesan  duties,  in  consideration  of  the  great  good 
which  may  be  done  by  him  to  our  scattered  and  destitute  breth- 


—114— 

ren,  in  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  this  mifsion :" — There- 
fore, Resolved  unanimously,  that  the  clergy  of  Connecticut  in 
Convocation  afsembled,  do  highly  approve  of  the  proposed  visi- 
tation, &  cheerfully  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Domestic  &  Foreign  Mifsionary  Society  in 
granting  a  free  release  from  his  Diocesan  duties  during  the 
said  Visitation — humbly  &  affectionately  commending  him,  & 
the  cause  in  which  he  is  engaged,  to  the  great  Head  of  the 
Church.— ^» 

It  was  moved  and  seconded  that  a  new  Committee  be 
appointed  on  the  subject  of  forming  a  Constitution  for  the 
relief  of  destitute  Widows  &  Orphans  of  deceased  Clergymen. 
Accordingly  the  Rev.  M''.  Sherwood,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hull,  &  the 
Rev.  M^  Burhans  were  appointed. 

On  Motion  the  Convocation  adjourned  after  the  customary 
devotional  exercises, 

William  Jarvis  Secretary. 

[1830] 

Middletown  November  17*^.  1830. 

Agreeably  to  appointment  by  the  Bishop,  the  Convocation 
afsembled  in  Christ  Church  in  this  city  at  half  past  10  O'Clock 
A.  M. 

Divine  service  was  performed  by  the  Rev.  M^  Sherwood,  & 
a  sermon  delivered  by  the  Rev.  M'.  Croswell.  After  the  Con- 
gregation was  dismifsed,  the  Convocation  was  called  to  order  by 
the  Bishop,  &  on  motion,  was  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  house  of 
M''.  Francis,  at  3  O'Clock  this  afternoon. 

The  Convocation  met  pursuant  to  adjournment,  &  the  roll 
being  called,  the  following  persons  answered  to  their  names. 

The  RK  Rev.  T.  C.  Brownell,  D.D.  LL.D. 

The  Rev.  David  Baldwin,  The  Rev.  Horatio  Potter, 

Nathan  B.  Burgefs,       "       "  Smith  Pyne, 

"       "       Joseph  T.  Clark,  "       "  Rodney  Rofsiter, 

"       "       Harry  Croswell,  "       "  Reuben  Sherwood, 

"       "       Alpheus  Geer,  "       "  Ashbel  Steele, 

"       "       Hector  Humphreys,       "       "  Ransom  Warner, 

"       "       William  Jarvis,  "       "  N.  S.  Wheaton, 

The  Rev.  Henry  S.  Attwater, 

Ch^  W"\  Bradley. 
^'  Note  XXXIX. 


—115— 

The  following  resolution  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  M'.  Croswell. 

"The    Bishop    &    Clergy    of    the    Diocese" 

"of  Connecticut  in  Convocation,  Nov.  17,  1830." 

On  motion,  resolved,  that  the  book  of  "Chants  adapted  to  the 
service  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States" 
compiled  by  Mr.  John  H.  Phoebus,  of  New  Haven,  is  recom- 
mended by  this  Convocation  to  the  churches  throughout  the 
Diocese,  as  a  work  well  calculated  to  effect  the  objects  proposed 
by  the  compiler,  by  promoting  a  correct  »&:  tasteful  execution  of 
the  chants,  &  aiding  the  congregations  generally  in  this  portion 
of  the  devotions  of  the  church.*" 

On  motion,  it  was  resolved  that  the  above  resolution  should 
be  referred  to  a  Committee  of  three,  to  report  to  morrow 
morning. 

The  Rev.  Messrs.  Humphreys,  Wheaton,  &  Pyne  were  ap- 
pointed that  Committee. — 

On  motion,  the  Rev.  Mefsrs.  Sherwood  &  Humphreys,  &  M"". 
Samuel  Huntington,  were  appointed  a  Committee  to  draft  the 
Constitution  of  "a  society  for  the  relief  of  destitute  widows  & 
orphans  of  deceased  clergymen." 

The  subject  of  the  agency  of  the  Rev.  Mefsrs.  Pyne  &  Hawks, 
in  behalf  of  Washington  College,  was  introduced  &  discufsed  at 
some  length.  The  interests  of  that  institution  were  shown  to 
be  intimately  connected  with  those  of  the  Church,  &  the  conse- 
quent duty  of  every  Episcopalian,  &  especially  of  every  Clergy- 
man, in  the  Diocese,  to  extend  to  it  his  most  efficient  patronage, 
was  ably  enforced. — On  motion,  the  Convocation  adjourned  to 
meet  the  same  place  at  9  O'clock  tomorrow  morning. 

Middletown  November  18*^.  1830. 

The  Convocation  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

The  Report  of  the  Committee  to  whom  was  referred  the 
Resolution  of  the  Rev.  M''.  Croswell  approving  and  recom- 
mending the  Book  of  Chants,  compiled  by  M'.  John  H.  Phoebus, 
w'as  in  favor  of  adopting  that  resolution,  &  on  motion,  was  unani- 
mously accepted. — 

The  Convocation  adjourned. 

William  Jarvis,  Secretary 
*"  Note  XL. 


— II 

[1837] 

New  Haven  June  12^^.  1837. 
The  Convocation  assembled  in  the  basement  room  of  St. 
Paul's  Chapel,  when  after  being  called  to  order  by  the  Bishop, 
and  after  prayers,  by  the  Secretary,  the  Bishop  took  the  Chair. 
A  communication  was  read  from  A.  B.  Chapin  Esqr.  Editor 
of  the  Chronicle  of  the  Church,  whereupon  a  Committee  was 
appointed  to  take  the  communication  into  consideration  con- 
sisting of 

Rev.  Dr  Croswell 
Rev    Messrs.  Beach 
Watson 
Burges 
&  Holcomb, 
and  they  were  directed  to  report  to  the  Convention,  to  com- 
mence its  sittings  to-morrow.*^ 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Jarvis  made  a  statement  in  regard  to  the  Chris- 
tian Knowledge  Society,  which  was  laid  over  for  consideration. 
After  which  the  Convocation  adjourned  leaving  the  time  and 
place  for  calling  another  to  the  discretion  of  the  Bishop. 

Attest 

A.  C.  Morgan, 

Secr^. 

[1847] 

Hartford,  June  8*^,  1847. 
A  Convocation  of  the  Clergy  was  held  on  the  evening  of  this 
day  in  the  Chapel  of  Christ  Church  Hartford.     After  having 
been  called  to  order  by  the  Bishop,  the  Secretary  by  direction 
of  the  chair  read  prayers. 

The  Rubrics  in  the  Baptismal  Service,  &  especially  the  proper 
postures  of  the  officiating  minister,  formed  the  subject  of  con- 
sideration &  discussion. 

The  Secretary  was  ordered  not  to  make  a  record  of  the  par- 
ticulars. 

Attest 

W".  Payne, 

Secretary. 
*'  Note  xLi. 


—117— 

[1848] 

New  Haven,  June  13"'  1848 

The  Bishop  called  a  Convocation  on  the  evening  of  this  day 

in  St.  Paul's  Church.     In  his  absence  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fuller  in  the 

Chair,  who  opened  the  meeting  with  Prayer. 

The  affairs  of  the  Christian  Knowledge  society  formed  the 

subject  of  deliberations.*- 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  bring  the  business  discussed 

before  Convention  on  the  following  day. 

Attest, 

W"".  Payne 

Secretary. 
^■•^  Note  xLii. 


Newtown.  June  6*^.  1826 

The  Convocation  met  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Burhans 
at  half  past  seven  O'clock  by  appointment. 

The  secretary  opened  the  meeting  with  prayers. 

On  motion  by  the  Rev.  M""  Hull  the  meeting  was  adjourned  to 
seven  o'clock  to  morrow  morning. 

Wednesday  June  7*^. 

The  Convocation  met  at  the  town  house  agreeably  to  ad- 
journment at  7  O'clock  A.  M. 

Present. 

Rt.  Rev.  T.  C.  Brownell 
Rev.  A.  Baldwin 
D :  Burhans 
Prindle 
T.  Marsh 
D.  Baldwin 
B.  G.  Noble 
B.  Judd 
H  Croswell 
P.  G.  Clark 
O.  P.  Holcomb 
F  Holcomb 
A-  Gear 
Hull 
Beach 
Rev  M''.  Barlow  Andrews 

Johnson  A.  Todd 

M"-  Coit  W°^  Jarvis 

M'.  Wells  Potter 

The  Bishop  read  the  following  communication  from  the  Rev. 
D"".  Jarvis. 

Upon  which  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted. 

Resolved  that  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Brownell  be  requested  to 
express  to  the  Rev  D"".  Jarvis  the  regret  of  this  convocation  that 
he  was  unable  to  attend  the  present  meeting  when  they  might 
have  personally  taken  leave  of  him  previous  to  his  departure  for 
Europe,  &  to  afsure  of  the  affectionate  interest  which  they  take 
in  his  welfare. 


—119— 

On  motion  by  the  Rev.  Truman  Marsh  the  resohition  passed 
at  the  last  meeting  concerning  the  alteration  of  the  Constitution 
was  reconsidered. 

The  resolution  was  indefinitely  posponed. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Barlow  from  the  Diocese  of  South  Carolina 
had  leave  to  bring  his  plan  for  the  publication  of  Books  before 
the  Convocation. 

Some  desultory  conversation  took  place  on  the  subject  of  a 
Society  for  the  relief  of  the  widows  and  orphans,  of  Clergymen — 
the  constitution  was  called  up  &  again  laid  upon  the  table. 

The  Society  for  the  promotion  of  Christian  Knowledge  was 
proposed  for  consideration — &  some  desultory  conversation  took 
place  &  the  subject  referred  to  the  Convention. 

The  subject  of  Sunday  Schools  was  taken  up  & 

On  motion  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Judd — 

Resolved  that  a  Committee  of  three  be  appointed  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Sunday  Schools. 

The  Rev.  M"^  Judd 

Croswell 

Noble. 

The  Convocation  adjourned  to  meet  at  7  o'clock  on  Thursday 
morning. 


Notes 


Note  I 

SKETCHES   OF    MEMBERS   OF   THE 
CONVOCATION 


The  Right  Reverend  SAMUEL  SEABURY,  D.D. 

Samuel,  the  second  son  of  Samuel  and  Abigail  (Mumford)  Seabury, 
was  born  at  North  Groton  (now  Ledyard),  Connecticut,  on  November 
30,  1729.  His  father  was  then  officiating  as  a  licentiate  of  the  "Standing 
Order"  in  the  meeting  house  of  the  Second  Ecclesiastical  Society  of 
Groton  located  in  North  Groton,  but  soon  after  conformed  to  the  Church 
of  England,  was  ordained  in  England  and  became  the  first  incumbent  of 
St.  James'  Church,  New  London.  The  future  bishop  was  educated  by 
his  father  and  in  the  common  schools  of  the  town  until  his  father's 
removal  to  Hempstead,  Long  Island,  in  1742.  He  entered  Yale  College 
in  1744,  and  graduated  with  honor  in  1748.  Mr.  Seabury  was  sent  by 
his  father  to  Huntington,  Long  Island,  as  "catechist"  in  1748,  in  which 
position  he  was  confirmed  by  the  Venerable  Society  with  a  salary  of  ten 
pounds  sterling  per  annum.  He  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  while 
at  Huntington  and  in  1752  went  to  Edinburgh  to  continue  his  medical 
course  until  of  age  to  present  himself  to  the  Bishop  of  London  for 
ordination. 

He  was  made  deacon  in  the  Chapel  of  Fulham  Palace  on  St.  Thomas' 
Day,  December  21,  1753,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  Thomas,  Bishop  of  Lincoln, 
acting  for  the  infirm  Bishop  of  London,  Dr.  Thomas  Sherlock.  He  was 
ordained  priest  in  the  same  chapel  on  Sunday,  December  23,  1753,  by  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Richard  Osbaldiston,  Bishop  of  Carlisle. 

He  was  immediately  appointed  by  the  Propagation  Society  to  the 
mission  of  Christ  Church,  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey.  In  I757  he 
went  to  Grace  Church,  Jamaica,  from  which  he  removed  in  1766  to  the 
Rectorship  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Westchester  County,  New  York.  To 
add  to  his  small  income  he  opened  while  at  Westchester  a  classical  school. 
As  the  Revolution  approached,  with  his  friends  Dr.  Chandler,  Dr. 
Inglis,  and  the  Hon.  Isaac  Wilkins,  he  allied  himself  with  the  cause  of 
the  united  British  Empire,  which  to  his  mind  included  the  welfare  of 
the  Church  of  England,  and  wrote  strongly  in  its  favor.  His  "Letters 
of  a  Westchester  Farmer"  are  an  excellent  specimen  of  his  style  in 
political  controversy.  He  was  also  for  several  years  the  Secretary  of 
the  Voluntary  Conventions  of  the  Clergy  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey 
which  some  from  Connecticut  occasionally  attended. 


— 124 — 

He  was  roughly  treated  by  the  patriots  in  his  neighborhood,  compelled 
at  various  times  to  conceal  himself  and  on  one  occasion  was  taken  to 
New  Haven  and  treated  with  much  indignity.  Upon  his  release  from 
confinement  he  returned  to  Westchester,  but  was  soon  obliged,  early 
in  1776,  to  close  the  churches  in  his  parish  and  join  the  numerous 
loyalists  in  the  city  of  New  York.  After  the  departure  of  General 
Washington  from  Manhattan  Island  in  September,  1776,  he  officiated,  in 
turn  with  other  clergymen  who  had  left  their  parishes,  for  the  refugees  in 
the  old  City  Hall  on  Wall  Street.  In  1778  he  was  appointed  to  the  charge 
of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Staten  Island,  but  found  it  unsafe  to  take  up  his 
residence  there. 

His  support  for  seven  years  came  from  the  stipend  of  fifty  pounds  a 
year  from  the  Venerable  Society,  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  his 
chaplaincy  of  the  Royal  American  Regiment  of  Colonel  Edmund  Fan- 
ning. He  was  made  a  Doctor  in  Divinity  by  Oxford  University  in  1778. 
With  his  election  and  acceptance  of  the  Bishopric  of  Connecticut  came 
a  new  period  in  Dr.  Seabury's  life.  He  went  to  England  in  July,  1783, 
in  the  flagship  of  Admiral  Digby.  His  noble  and  unceasing  efforts  to 
induce  the  Bishops  in  England  to  rise  above  political  and  traditional 
precedents  and  consecrate  him  under  a  special  act  of  Parliament,  form  a 
chapter  of  pathetic  interest  in  our  annals.  In  the  summer  of  1784  he 
made  a  formal  application  to  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  in  Scotland  to 
consecrate  him.  Upon  their  favorable  answer  he  journeyed  to  Aberdeen 
and  was  consecrated  a  Bishop  in  the  Church  of  God,  in  Bishop  Skinners 
chapel  in  Long  Acre,  Aberdeen  on  Sunday,  November  14,  1784  by  the 
Primus,  Dr.  Robert  Kilgour  of  Aberdeen,  Dr.  Arthur  Petrie  of  Moray 
and  Ross,  and  Dr.  John  Skinner,  Coadjutor  Bishop  of  Aberdeen.  He 
returned  to  London  immediately  after  and  sailed  for  America  in  March, 
1785.  He  spent  some  weeks  among  relatives  in  Nova  Scotia  and  arrived 
at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  on  June  20,  1785.  It  is  unnecessary  here  to 
trace  the  events  of  his  Episcopate,  some  details  of  which  will  be  found 
in  the  introduction  and  text  of  these   "Records". 

Bishop  Seabury  died  suddenly  on  February  25,  1796  in  the  sixty- 
seventh  year  of  his  age. 

The  Reverend  BELA  HUBBARD,  D.D. 

Bela,  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Diana  (Ward)  Hubbard,  was  born  in  Guil- 
ford, Connecticut,  on  August  27,  1739.  He  was  prepared  for  college  in 
the  common  schools  and  at  home.  In  his  fourteenth  year  he  entered 
Yale  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1758.  He  then  enjoyed 
a  year  of  theological  study  with  his  relative  by  marriage,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Samuel  Johnson,  President  of  King's  College,  New  York. 

In  1761  he  became  lay  reader  at  Christ  Church  in  his  native  town, 
under  the  oversight  of  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Punderson,  of  New  Haven, 
whose  missionary  circuit  included  Guilford. 

In  the  fall  of  1763,  in  company  with  Abraham  Jarvis,  his  life-long 
friend,  and  William  Walter  of  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  he  went  "home" 
to  England  for  ordination. 


—125— 

On  Sunday,  February  5,  1764,  in  "the  Royal  Chapel  of  St.  James, 
Westminster,"  he  was  made  deacon  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Frederick  Keppel, 
Bishop  of  Exeter,  acting  for  the  infirm  Bishop  of  London,  Dr.  Richard 
Osbaldisto/i.  On  Sunday,  February  19,  1764,  in  "the  parish  Church  of 
St.  James,  Westminster,"  he  was  ordained  priest  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Charles 
Lyttleton,  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  acting  for  the  Bishop  of  London.  Upon 
his  return  he  took  charge  of  Christ  Church,  Guilford,  and  St.  John's, 
North  Guilford,  to  which  he  soon  added  a  congregation  in  Killingvvorth, 
now  Clinton,   "a  seaport  Town  10  miles  distant." 

He  occasionally  officiated  in  remoter  places,  as  Saybrook,  Branford, 
New  Haven,  Litchfield.  His  work  was  fruitful  and  acceptable.  His 
salary  came  wholly  from  his  parishioners  and  was  only  thirty  pounds 
sterling  per  annum.  The  Venerable  Society  at  that  time  did  not  think 
it  expedient  to  form  any  new  missions  in  New  England  and  would  not 
make  any  appropriation  for  Guilford.  In  1767  he  accepted  the  joint 
rectorship  of  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  and  Christ  Church,  West 
Haven,  at  an  increased  salary. 

He  was  a  resident  of  New  Haven  in  the  critical  days  of  the  Revolution. 
Although  a  pronounced  loyalist,  he  retained  the  full  esteem  of  the  patriots. 

His  services  to  the  Church  in  Connecticut  at  the  formative  period  are 
great  and  deserve  recognition.  His  ability  as  a  parish  priest  and  his 
theological  learning  were  recognized  by  his  alma  mater  by  the  degree  of 
Doctor  in  Divinity  in  1804.  After  an  incumbency  of  forty-five  years  in 
one  parish  Bela  Hubbard  rested  from  his  earthly  labors  on  Sunday, 
December  6,  1812,  in  the  seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age  and  the  fortj-- 
eighth  of  his  ministry. 

In  the  present  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  which  his  zeal  and  tact 
made  possible,  there  is  in  the  chancel  an  appropriate  monument  setting 
forth  his  excellencies. 

The  Right  Reverend  ABRAHAM  JARVIS,  D.D. 

Abraham,  the  sixth  son  and  ninth  child  of  Captain  Samuel  and  Naomi 
(Brush)  Jarvis,  was  born  at  Norwalk,  Connecticut,  on  May  5,  1739. 
He  was  carefully  trained  in  the  district  school  and  at  home,  and  then 
placed  under  the  tuition  of  the  Rev.  Noah  Wells,  the  Congregational 
minister  of  Stratford,  to  be  prepared  for  college.  He  became  a  student 
at  Yale  when  eighteen  and  graduated  with  honor  in  1761. 

He  went  immediately  after  to  Middletown  to  officiate  as  lay  reader  in 
Christ  Church.  He  also  pursued  by  himself  a  course  in  theology,  pre- 
sumably set  forth  for  him  by  the  learned  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson. 

About  1762  it  becoming  necessary  to  leave  his  work  to  be  inoculated 
for  the  small  pox,  he  resided  for  several  months  at  Elizabeth  Town,  New 
Jersey,  in  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler,  the 
well-read  theologian  and  acute  pleader  for  an  American  Episcopate. 
Under  him  he  probably  completed  his  course  in  theology. 

In  the  fall  of  1763,  in  company  with  his  intimate  friend,  Bela  Hubbard, 
and  William  Walter  of  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  he  sailed  for  England 


— 126 — ■ 

to  seek  holy  orders.  His  expenses  were  defrayed  by  a  subscription  of 
the  members  of  the  Middletown  parish.  He  was  made  deacon  in  "the 
royal  Chapel  of  St.  James,  Westminster,"  on  Sunday,  February  5,  1764, 
by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Frederick  Keppel,  Bishop  of  Exeter. 

He  was  ordained  priest  in  "the  parish  Church  of  St.  James,  West- 
minster," on  Sunday,  February  19,  1764,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  Lyttle- 
ton.  Bishop  of  Carlisle. 

Both  of  these  ordinations,  at  which  his  companions  also  were  ordained, 
were  by  special  commission  from  the  aged  and  feeble  Bishop  of  London, 
Dr.  Richard  Osbaldiston,  who,  as  had  his  predecessors,  exercised  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  American  Colonies.  He  sailed  for  America  in  April  and 
was  again  at  work  in  June.  He  had  been  duly  chosen  as  Rector  of 
Christ  Church,  Middletown.  An  annual  salary  of  seventy  pounds  ster- 
ling was  pledged  to  him  by  the  parish.  For  some  reason  not  now  to  be 
ascertained,  the  Venerable  Society  declined  to  continue  the  stipend  of 
twenty  pounds  which  had  been  allowed  to  the  Rev.  Ichabod  Camp,  the 
first  Rector  and  Missionary.  Mr.  Jarvis  became  a  true  pastor  not  only 
for  the  people  in  Middletown,  but  in  all  the  surrounding  country.  He 
greatly  encouraged  the  small  band  of  churchmen  in  Hartford  by  his 
presence,  his  services  and  his  advice.  There  would  have  been  rapid 
growth  in  Hartford  had  the  suggestion  to  make  Middletown  and  Hart- 
ford a  mission  under  Mr.  Jarvis  met  with  the  approval  of  the  authorities 
in  England. 

His  energy  and  success  as  a  parish  priest  are  shown  by  a  memorandum 
made  a  few  years  after  his  ordination,  in  which  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  souls,  of  whom  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  communicants,  are 
recorded  as  under  his  charge.  The  esteem  in  which  Mr.  Jarvis  was 
held  by  his  brethren  and  the  active  part  he  took  in  the  organization  of 
the  Church  in  Connecticut,  his  wisdom  and  prudence  in  all  the  steps  taken 
for  a  true  General  Convention,  are  detailed  in  the  introduction  to  these 
"Records." 

With  the  continued  regard  and  affection  of  his  parishioners  he  served 
them  in  holy  things  for  thirty-five  years. 

Upon  the  death  of  Bishop  Seabury,  at  the  special  Convention  held  in 
Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  on  May  5,  1796,  he  was  chosen  Bishop.  As 
there  had  been  a  diversity  of  opinion  among  the  clergy  and  some  opposi- 
tion by  prominent  laymen,  he  immediately  declined  the  election. 

When  Dr.  Bowden,  who  in  October,  1796,  had  been  elected,  finally 
declined  the  Episcopate,  Mr.  Jarvis  was  unanimously  elected  for  the 
third  time,  by  his  brethren  at  the  annual  convention  held  in  St.  James's 
Church,  Derby,  on  June  7,  1797.  He  accepted  and  was  consecrated  in 
Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  on  the  feast  of  St.  Luke,  October  18, 
1797.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Smith,  of 
St.  Paul's  Church,  Norwalk.  It  is  one  of  the  five  instances  in  the  history 
of  the  American  Church  when  the  sermon  at  the  consecration  of  a 
Bishop  has  been  by  a  priest.^ 

>The  others  are  :  The  Rev.  Dr.  William  Smith,  Provost  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
preached  at  the  consecration  of  Dr.  Claggett,  1792  ;  Dr.  Robert  Smith,  1795  ;  and  Dr.  Bass, 
1797.    The  Rev.  Dr.  Frederick  Beasley  preached  at  the  consecration  of  Mr.  Chase  in  i8ig. 


— 127 — 

The  consecrators  were  the  presiding  Bishop,  Dr.  William  White,  and 
the  Bishop  of  New  York  (Dr.  Provoost),  and  the  Bishop  of  Massachu- 
setts (Dr.  Bass).  Yale  College  conferred  on  him,  in  1797,  the  degree 
of  Doctor  in  Divinity. 

The  second  Bishop  of  Connecticut  was  faithful  in  his  administration 
of  the  Diocese  and  saw  a  moderate  but  real  growth.  During  his  later 
years  he  was  afflicted  with  asthma  and  any  clerical  duty  was  done  with 
difficulty,  but  he  never  allowed  his  bodily  infirmity  to  interfere  with  his 
official  and  religious  obligations.  In  1799  he  removed  to  Cheshire,  where 
the  Episcopal  Academy,  under  Dr.  Bowden,  was  coming  into  favorable 
knowledge  of  the  people. 

The  "Records"  give  particulars  of  the  unhappy  incident  of  his  Epis- 
copate, the  career  of  Ammi  Rogers  in  the  Diocese,  and  other  events  of 
diocesan  life  in  which  the  Bishop  took  an  active  part. 

In  1803  Bishop  Jarvis  removed  to  New  Haven,  where  he  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  days. 

He  departed  this  life  at  New  Haven  on  May  3,  1813,  having  lived 
nearly  seventy-four  years. 

When  the  present  Trinity  Church  was  erected  his  body  was  removed 
from  the  public  cemetery  and  buried  beneath  the  chancel.  An  elegant 
Gothic  monument  with  a  classic  and  affectionate  Latin  inscription  written 
by  his  son,  the  distinguished  scholar.  Dr.  Samuel  Farmar  Jarvis,  adorns 
the  walls  of  the  Church. 

The  Reverend  GIDEON  BOSTWICK,  M.A. 

Gideon,  the  fifth  son  and  eighth  child  of  Captain  Nathaniel  and  Esther 
(Hitchcock)  Bostwick,  was  born  in  New  Milford,  Connecticut,  on  Sep- 
tember 21,  1742.  He  was  strictly  brought  up  in  the  pious  ways  of  the 
"Standing  Order."  He  was  educated  principally  at  home  and  then  fitted 
for  college  by  the  celebrated  Nathaniel  Taylor,  the  Congregational  minis- 
ter of  New  Milford.  He  entered  Yale  College  in  1758,  sustained  a  high 
rank  throughout  his  course  and  graduated  with  honor  in  1762.  He  had, 
under  the  influence  of  an  intimate  friend  and  classmate,  "declared"  for 
the  Church  of  England.  As  then  there  was  little  prospect  of  a  new  mis- 
sion being  erected  in  any  part  of  New  England  by  the  Venerable  Society, 
he  went,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Davies,  Rector  of  St. 
John's,  New  Milford,  and  an  ardent  missionary,  to  Great  Barrington, 
Massachusetts.  A  small  and  vigorous  parish  had  been  founded  there 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Rev.  Solomon  Palmer  and  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Davies.  Mr.  Bostwick  became  the  lay  reader  and  opened  a  classical 
school,  which  from  the  first  was  successful.  The  young  candidate  was 
not  content  with  merely  reading  the  service  on  Sunday,  but  did  such 
pastoral  work  as  a  layman  could,  and  went  into  the  surrounding  country 
to  seek  out  the  lost  or  strayed  sheep  of  Christ. 

In  1769  such  strength  had  been  developed  that  it  seemed  expedient 
to  the  clergy  of  Connecticut,  with  which  the  work  had  always  been  con- 
nected, to  make  an  effort  to  obtain  a  grant  from  the  Venerable  Society 


—128— 

and  the  erection  by  it  of  a  mission  to  include  Great  Barrington  and 
Lanesborough  in  Berkshire  County,  together  with  Nobletown  and  New 
Concord  on  the  New  York  side  of  the  Berkshire  Hills,  in  what  was  aptly 
called   "a  wilderness  country." 

A  petition  from  the  four  congregations  was  prepared  and  universally 
signed,  asking  for  recognition  by  the  Society,  a  stipend,  and  the  ordina- 
tion of  Mr.  Bostwick.  With  this  and  a  commendatory  letter  from  the 
clergy  of  New  York,  Mr.  Bostwick  went  to  England  late  in  1769.  He 
was  successful  in  his  quest.  The  Society  broke  its  rule,  erected  the  Berk- 
shire Mission,  assigned  to  it  a  stipend  of  twenty-five  pounds  sterling  per 
annum  and  appointed  Mr.  Bostwick  the  Missionary  upon  his  ordination. 
After  due  examination  he  was  made  deacon  by  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Richard  Terrick,  on  St.  Matthias'  Day,  February 
24,  1770,  in  the  royal  Chapel  of  St.  James.  He  was  ordained  priest  by 
the  same  Bishop  on  Sunday,  March  11,  1770,  "in  the  Chapel  Royal  at 
Saint  James's  Palace  in  Westminster."^ 

After  a  pleasant  passage  of  six  weeks,  he  arrived  at  New  York  on  May 
29,  and  reached  his  mission  on  June  4. 

From  that  day  he  was  abundant  in  labors  laying  foundations  to  be 
afterward  built  upon.  He  made  a  house  to  house  visitation  in  the  newly 
settled  towns  of  what  is  now  Columbia  County,  New  York,  Bennington 
County,  Vermont,  and  Berkshire  County,  Massachusetts.  For  the  earlier 
years  of  his  ministry  his  services  were  almost  daily.  His  letters  show 
him  to  be  active,  diligent,  and  discerning.  His  influence  over  those  who  had 
moved  into  this  northern  portion  of  New  England  after  the  old  French 
war  was  very  great.  His  private  register  records  in  his  ministry  of 
twenty-three  years  the  baptism  of  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
four  children  and  eighty-one  adults,  the  marriage  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  couples  and  the  burials  of  eighty-four  persons.  There  is 
hardly  another  record  equal  to  it  in  the  missionary  annals  of  our  coun- 
try. The  ''Records"  show  that  Mr.  Bostwick  was  honored  in  the  Dio- 
cese. Much  of  his  work  was  ephemeral  for  many  promising  settlements 
never  attained  maturity,  but  enough  remains  to  keep  green  the  memory  of 
a  true  herald  of  the  Cross,  notably  St.  James's,  Great  Barrington,  Trinity, 
Lenox,  and  Christ  Church,  Hudson,  New  York.  Upon  his  return  from 
the  Convocation  and  Convention  at  Middletown  on  June  5,  1793,  where 
he  had  presented  his  friend  and  lay  reader  at  Lanesborough,  Mr.  Daniel 
Burlians,  for  ordination,  he  rode  a  hard-trotting  horse.  When  he  arrived 
at  his  old  home  in  New  Milford,  he  was  taken  violently  and  dangerously 
ill  as  the  result.  After  lingering  in  much  pain  for  some  days,  he  entered 
into  the  rest  of  Paradise  on  June  13,  1793,  in  the  fifty-first  year  of  his 
age.  Over  his  grave  in  the  lower  cemetery  at  Great  Barrington,  friends 
erected  a  handsome  marble  monument  appropriately  inscribed. 

1  Mr.  Bostwick's  letter  of  Orders  as  priest  is  in  the  custody  of  the  writer. 


— 129 — 

The  Reverend  JAMES  SAYRE,  M.A. 

James  Sayre  is  supposed  to  have  been  born  in  Scotland  in  1745.  He 
is  said  to  have  come  to  America  with  his  older  brother  John,  while  a  boy. 

He  studied  at  the  College  of  Philadelphia  when  that  institution  was 
under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  William  Smith.  He  was  graduated  in  1765 
in  the  same  class  with  Bishop  White. 

Removing  to  New  York  City,  he  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1771.  His  brother  John  had  been  ordained  in  1768  and  taken 
charge  of  an  extensive  mission  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson,  which 
included  Newburgh,  New  Windsor,  and  Walden.  He  was  laborious 
and  successful.  It  was  possibly  through  his  persuasion  and  influence 
that  Mr.  Sayre  abandoned  the  law  and  sailed  in  the  summer  of  1774  for 
England.  He  was  ordained  in  the  fall  of  that  year  and  was  licensed 
to  officiate  in  the  Plantations  on  September  21,  1774. 

A  manuscript  note  on  the  margin  of  the  Book  of  Licenses  of  the 
Diocese  of  London  assigns  him  to  "Fredericksburgh  precinct."  This 
term  evidently  indicates  the  region  bordering  on  Connecticut  east  of 
Poughkeepsie,  Peekskill,  Fishkill,  and  other  towns  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  Hudson.     It  was  sparsely  settled  and  spiritually  destitute. 

There  had  been  intermittent  church  work  in  the  river  towns  from 
1765,  when  the  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury  made  a  missionary  tour  and  held 
the  first  services.  The  Rev.  John  Beardsley  became,  in  1761,  the 
missionary  in  Dutchess  County,  and  in  1766  was  promoted  to  the  rector- 
ship of  Poughkeepsie.  Probably  it  was  to  assist  him  by  caring  for  the 
"back  country,"  as  Mr.  Beardsley's  work  was  over  a  wide  area,  that 
Mr.  Sayre  was  ordained. 

The  commencement  of  actual  hostilities  with  England  taking  place 
soon  after  his  return,  it  is  extremely  doubtful  if  he  remained  long  in 
the  precinct. 

In  1775  he  accepted  a  commission  as  chaplain  to  one  of  the  loyalist 
battalions  raised  by  Colonel  De  Lancey.  Camp  life  and  the  monotony 
of  service  in  and  near  the  city  of  New  York,  to  which  the  British  were 
principally  confined,  was  irksome.  His  power  as  a  preacher  was  acknowl- 
edged by  all  who  heard  him  and  his  reading  of  the  service  was  impres- 
sive and  solemn. 

He  felt  that  it  was  a  great  relief  to  be  asked  to  officiate  for  the  few 
churchmen  at  Brooklyn  Ferry,  then  a  hamlet  of  about  sixty  houses 
and  less  than  two  thousand  people.  Previously  they  had  traveled  the 
long  distance  to  Grace  Church,  Jamaica,  or  crossed  the  East  River  to 
worship  in  Trinity  Church  or  one  of  its  chapels. 

Mr.  Sayre  commenced  his  work  in  Brooklyn  in  1778  and  continued  it 
for  five  years.  His  success  in  the  little  village,  now  part  of  a  great  city, 
can  only  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  in  1787  a  parish  was  organized. 

The  archives  of  St.  Ann's,  the  mother  parish  of  Brooklyn,  contain  the 
record  of  only  one  official  act  of  Mr.  Sayre.  It  is  a  copy  of  a  baptismal 
certificate  dated  August  20,  1783,  and  signed 

"James  Sayre,  Minister  of  the  Church  at  Brooklyn  Ferry." 
9 


— 130— 

Upon  the  evacuation  of  New  York  City  by  the  British  on  November 
25,  1783,  Mr.  Sayre,  with  many  other  loyalists,  went  under  the  escort 
of  the  fleet  to  St.  John,  New  Brunswick.  Here  a  tract  of  land  had  been 
assigned  him.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  had  any  settled  congregation 
or  sought  any  parish.  He  evidently  was  not  placed  on  the  list  of  the 
Venerable  Society's  missionaries  and  the  poor  refugees  were  unable  to 
give  adequate  salaries  to  their  ministers. 

After  an  experience  not  altogether  pleasant,  he  returned  to  the  United 
States  and  seems  to  have  been  in  Connecticut  in  the  spring  of  1784.  In 
June,  1784,  he  became  the  minister  of  Trinity  Church,  Branford,  Christ 
Church,  Guilford,  and  St.  John's,  North  Guilford.  He  resided  in  Bran- 
ford,  giving  three-quarters  of  his  time  to  Branford  and  Guilford  and 
the  other  quarter  to  North  Guilford.  He  was  both  active  and  popular. 
In  the  following  year  efforts  were  made  to  induce  him  to  live  in  Guilford, 
but  without  success.  He  resigned  in  the  spring  of  1786  and  went  to  live 
in  Fairfield,  where  the  Rev.  Philo  Shelton  was  Rector. 

In  July,  1786,  Bishop  Seabury  recommended  him  to  the  vestry  of 
Trinity  Church,  Newport,  one  of  the  important  parishes  of  New  England, 
as  "a  worthy  and  prudent  man,"  of  "good  understanding"  who  "reads 
prayers  much  to  my  satisfaction." 

Mr.  Sayre  accepted  the  invitation  to  visit  Newport  sent  during  the 
summer  and  removed  to  that  town  in  October,  1786. 

For  nearly  a  year  he  was  beloved  and  respected  by  all  his  parishioners. 
An  unhappy  conflict  with  some  of  the  prominent  laymen  in  the  parish 
then  occurred,  principally  concerning  the  revision  of  the  Prayer  Book, 
and  for  two  years  there  was  bitter  controversy  and  mutual  discontent. 
Finally,  by  the  intervention  of  Bishop  Seabury,  the  pastoral  relation  was 
dissolved  and  Mr.  Sayre  returned  to  Fairfield  in  the  early  days  of  1789. 

The  parish  at  Stratford  became  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Mr. 
Learning  in  1790.  Its  members  esteemed  Mr.  Sayre  highly  and  had 
endeavored  to  have  him  visit  them  during  the  Revolution,  but  permission 
was  refused  by  the  civil  authority.  They  were  now  glad  to  call  him  as 
their  rector.  His  services  were  peculiarly  acceptable  to  them  and  they 
gave  him  a  loyal  and  sincere  support. 

The  fixed  conviction  of  Mr.  Sayre  that  the  revision  of  the  Prayer  Book 
at  Philadelphia  was  unnecessary  and  deprived  it  of  essential  features; 
that  laymen  should  never  have  any  influence  or  authority  in  the  Church, 
or  sit  in  ecclesiastical  conventions,  he  so  strongly  impressed  upon  the 
people  of  Christ  Church  that  they  determined  never  to  use  the  new  book 
or  to  approve  the  union  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States. 

The  text  of  the  "Records"  shows  the  serious  and  unpleasant  conse- 
quences of  this  course. 

The  Rev.  John  Bowden  was  then  living  in  Stratford.  He  had  the 
cordial  good  will  and  respect  of  the  churchmen  of  the  parish.  With  the 
desire  of  convincing  them  of  their  error  and  leading  them  to  see  the 
absurdity  of  their  position,  he  wrote  in  March,  1792,  an  affectionate  and 
logical  "Address"  and  a  "Letter"  to  Mr.  Sayre.^     His  letter  to  Mr.  Sayre 

1  An  Address  from  John  Bowden,  A.M.  to  the  Members  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
Stratford,  to  which  is  added  a  Letter  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  James  Sayre.  *  *  *  New  Haven  : 
Printed  by  T.  and  S.  Green,    n.  d.    i2mo,  pp.  39. 


—131— 

rehearses  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Bowden  was  welcomed  by  Mr.  Sayre, 
and  their  pleasant  relations  until  Mr.  Sayre  made  his    "Protest." 

The  change  that  then  occurred  is  noted,  Mr.  Sayre's  abuse  of  his 
brethren  mentioned,  and  he  is  asked  to  reconsider  and  pause  before  lead- 
ing "a  congregation  into  a  separation  that  must  in  a  few  years  end  in 
their  ruin." 

The  effect  of  the  "Address"  upon  the  parish  was  slowly  apparent  and 
Mr.  Sayre  was  compelled  to  resign  at  Easter,  1793.  He  removed  to 
Woodbury  and  became  the  rector  of  St.  Paul's  Church.  Here  again  he 
aroused  the  people  of  that  staid  old  parish  to  open  defiance  of  the  whole 
Diocese  and  refusal  to  submit  to  the  constituted  authorities.  But  in  July, 
1794,  Woodbury  conformed  and  Mr.  Sayre  was  once  more  obliged  to 
leave  his  home.  He  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  Fairfield.  It 
is  said  that  he  continued  to  denounce  bitterly  the  Bishop  and  clergy, 
finally  renouncing  the  Church  of  his  fathers.  He  died  in  1798,  in  the 
fifty-third  year  of  his  age.  It  was  learned  after  his  death,  that  he  had 
been  for  some  years  mentally  unbalanced. 

His  life  is  a  sad  instance  of  perverted  energy  and  misdirected  zeal. 

The  Reverend  PHILO  SHELTON,  M.A. 

Philo,  a  son  of  Samuel  Shelton,  was  born  in  Ripton  (now  Hunt- 
ington), Connecticut,  on  May  5,  1754.  His  ancestors  had  been  church- 
men in  the  days  when  it  ineant  persecution  and  much  personal  abuse. 
His  grandfather,  Daniel  Shelton,  a  pioneer  of  the  town  and  a  large 
land  owner,  had  been  one  of  the  founders  and  benefactors  of  St.  Paul's 
Church  in  that  village. 

Mr.  Shelton  was  carefully  trained  in  the  ways  of  the  Church.  He 
attended  the  district  school,  where  only  a  slight  knowledge  of  the  rudi- 
ments of  education  could  be  obtained.  He  also  came  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  his  pastor,  the  Rev.  Christopher  Newton,  aand  when  seventeen 
years  old  was  ready  for  college.  He  was  graduated  with  honor  from 
Yale  College  in  1775. 

He  had  early  determined  to  study  for  the  holy  ministry.  His  son,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  William  Shelton,  states  that  his  theological  course  was  pursued 
with  the  Rev.  James  Scovill,  Rector  of  St.  John's,  Waterbury,  a  man 
of  excellent  attainments  and  sound  judgment.  The  condition  of  Con- 
necticut during  the  Revolution  did  not  allow  any  new  church  work  to 
be  undertaken. 

As  noted  in  the  "Introduction,"  several  clergymen  were  able  to  keep 
open  their  churches. 

It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Shelton  while  with  Mr.  Scovill  aided  him  as 
lay  reader  in  his  widely  extended  parish,  which  included  Waterbury, 
Westbury  (now  Watertown),  Northbury  (now  Plymouth),  and  New 
Cambridge  (now  Bristol).  On  July  8,  1779,  Fairfield  was  burned  by  the 
British  under  General  Tryon,  when  the  church,  rectory,  meeting  houses, 
and  many  dwellings  were  destroyed.     The  minister  of  Trinity  Church, 


—132— 

the  Rev.  John  Sayre,  with  his  family,  lost  everything  and  became  a 
refugee  in  New  York. 

On  August  24,  1779,  a  meeting  of  members  of  the  parish  was  held  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  John  Sherwood  at  Greenfield. 

It  was  resolved  "to  apply  to  Mr.  Shelton  at  Ripton  in  order  to  hire 
him  to  officiate  for  them  if  Mr.  Shelton  will  please  to  come." 

A  regular  routine  for  the  three  sections  of  the  parish,  Fairfield,  Strat- 
field  (now  Bridgeport),  and  North  Fairfield  (now  Weston),  was  made 
out.  Mr.  Shelton  accepted  and  for  six  years  faithfully  read  the  service 
according  to  the  routine,  visited  the  people  in  every  part  of  the  parish 
and  accumulated  much  experience  for  his   future  ministry. 

With  several  other  Connecticut  candidates,  Mr.  Shelton  patiently 
waited  for  the  return  of  the  Bishop-designate  invested  with  the  Episcopal 
character. 

On  August  3,  1785,  he  was  presented  in  Christ  Church,  Middletown, 
to  "Samuel,  Bishop  of  Connecticut,"  to  be  made  deacon.  The  others 
ordained  at  this  memorable  first  ordination  by  a  Bishop  of  the  American 
Church  were :  Ashbel  Baldwin,  of  Litchfield ;  Henry  Van  Dyck,  of  Mil- 
ford,  and  Colin  Ferguson,  of  Maryland.  The  evidence  of  these  "Records" 
and  the  tradition  of  Mr.  Shelton's  descendants  and  the  older  clergy  of 
the  Diocese  show  that  he  was  the  first  deacon  ordained  in  the  Church 
in  the  United  States.  Mr.  Shelton  was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop 
Seabury  in  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  on  September  16,  1785. 

Upon  his  return  home,  he  entered  upon  the  rectorship  of  the  parish  he 
had  served  as  lay  reader.     His  incumbency  continued  throughout  his  life. 

The  work  done  by  him  was  large  and  encouraging. 

His  "Parochiales  Notitiae''  show  that  in  the  forty  years  of  his  ministry 
he  baptized  nineteen  hundred  and  seventy-eight  persons,  four  hundred 
and  fifty-four  persons  were  confirmed,  five  hundred  and  eighty  persons 
had  become  communicants,  and  eight  hundred  and  thirtj^-eight  persons 
had  been  buried.^ 

New  churches  were  built  in  Fairfield  in  1790,  and  in  the  borough  of 
Bridgeport  in  1801.  Mr.  Shelton  paid  much  attention  to  developing  the 
Church  in  the  new  borough,  which  was  rapidly  filling  up  with  an  intel- 
ligent population.  He  was,  however,  zealous  in  maintaining  the  work 
in  the  other  portions  of  the  parish. 

At  Easter,  1824,  as  he  felt  the  growing  infirmities  of  age,  he  resigned 
the  charge  of  St.  John's,  Bridgeport,  and  confined  his  attention  to  Fair- 
field. Mr.  Shelton  died  on  February  27,  1825,  in  the  seventy-first  year 
of  his  age.  He  was  buried  under  the  chancel  of  Trinity  Church  on 
Mill  Plain,  Fairfield.     A  tablet  to  his  memory  was  placed  in  the  church. 

Subsequently  his  body  was  removed  to  Mountain  Grove  Cemetery, 
Bridgeport,  where  an  elaborate  monument  of  Italian  marble  suitably 
inscribed  has  been  erected. 

1  The  Rev.  Dr.  Guilbert  in  his  ''Annals  of  an  Old  Parish  "  (New  York  :  T.  Whittaker, 
1898)  has  printed  this  valuable  document  as  Appendix  I.,  pp.  183-273.  The  original  is  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  Hamilton  Shelton  of  Bridgeport. 


—133— 

Few  clergymen  were  more  beloved,  honored  and  trusted.  He  held 
many  responsible  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  Convention  and  of  the  Con- 
vocation. He  was  almost  continuously  from  1795  a  member  of  the 
Standing  Committee,  and  from  1801  a  deputy  to  the  General  Convention. 
During  the  vacancy  in  the  Episcopate  from  1813-1816,  he  as  senior 
presbyter  presided  in  the  Diocesan  Convention.  In  a  letter  to  Mrs. 
Shelton,  Bishop  Brownell  gives  this  estimate  of  his  character :  "I  feel 
that  I  have  lost  one  of  my  best  friends  and  counsellors,  and  that  the 
Diocese  has  lost  one  of  its  best  patterns  of  ministerial  faithfulness  and 
Christian  simplicity." 

The  Reverend  ASHBEL  BALDWIN,  M.A. 

Ashbel,  a  son  of  Isaac  Baldwin,  was  born  in  Litchfield,  Connecticut, 
on  March  7,  1757. 

His  father,  a  graduate  of  Yale  in  1735,  had  commenced  life  as 
licentiate  for  the  Congregational  ministry  and  preached  for  some  time  in 
that  portion  of  Litchfield  County  now  the  town  of  Washington.  He 
abandoned  the  ministry  for  farming  and  became  a  useful  and  public 
spirited  citizen  of  Litchfield. 

Mr.  Baldwin  sent  two  of  his  sons  to  Yale  College  after  they  had  been 
prepared  in  the  common  schools  and  under  his  own  direction.  Isaac, 
the  elder,  was  graduated  in  1774,  and  Ashbel,  the  younger,  in  1776. 
Both  achieved  distinction  in  their  classes. 

It  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  Revolution  and  Litchfield  County  was 
thoroughly  patriotic.  The  j'oung  graduate  with  several  of  his  class- 
mates was  eager  to  enter  the  army.  Circumstances,  however,  compelled 
Mr.  Ashbel  Baldwin  to  accept  a  private  tutorship,  as  have  many  other 
of  Yale's  brightest  men.  He  was  pleasantly  situated  in  a  delightful 
home  in  Dutchess  County,  New  York,  near  the  Hudson  River.  The 
family  were  members  of  the  Church  of  England.  It  was  at  that  time 
customary  for  the  tutors  in  the  old  colonial  families  to  conduct  the  family 
worship,  and  when  the  house  was  remote  from  church  to  read  the 
service  and  a  sermon  to  the  household  and  neighbors.  When  called 
upon  for  this  duty,  Mr.  Baldwin,  who  had  been  brought  up  a  strict 
Congregationalist,  was  perplexed,  for  his  ignorance  of  the  Prayer  Book 
was  profound.  A  friendly  gardener  on  the  place,  whom  he  consulted, 
made  him  familiar  with  the  Book.  He  then  read  the  service  with  fervor 
and  intelligence.  From  admiration  of  the  pure  English  and  devotional 
fervor  of  the  prayers  he  advanced  to  a  belief  in  the  doctrines  expressed 
in  the  Prayer  Book.  By  study  and  examination,  he  became  thoroughly 
convinced  that  the  Church  of  England  was  a  pure  branch  of  the  Catholic 
Church  of  Christ,  and  conformed  to  it. 

At  the  close  of  his  tutorship,  about  1778,  he  secured  a  position  as 
quartermaster  in  the  commissary  department  of  the  Connecticut  line  of 
the  Continental  army,  and  was  stationed  at  Litchfield  in  charge  of  a 
large  depot  of  stores,  many  of  which  had  been  surrendered  at  Saratoga 
by  General  Burgoyne.     Much  to  his  regret,  he  could  not  engage  in  active 


—134— 

service,  as  imprudence  in  swimming  when  a  boy  had  brought  on  a 
permanent  lameness  and  shortening  of  one  of  his  legs. 

His  studies  for  the  ministry  were  probably  pursued  by  himself  with 
the  advice  of  his  friend  and  neighbor,  the  Rev.  Richard  Clarke  of  New 
Milford. 

He  was  in  attendance  as  a  spectator  at  the  convocation  of  the  clergy 
at  Woodbury,  on  the  feast  of  the  Annunciation,  1783,  when  the  first 
Bishop  of  Connecticut  was  chosen.  During  the  absence  of  the  incum- 
bent, the  Rev.  James  Nichols,  in  some  other  part  of  his  mission,  Mr. 
Baldwin  read  the  service  at  Litchfield.  When  Mr.  Nichols  removed  to 
Sandgate,  Vermont,  Mr.  Baldwin  was  invited  to  take  charge  as  lay 
reader.  A  parish  by  the  name  of  Saint  Michael's  Church,  Litchfield,  was 
incorporated  under  the  state  law  in  October,  1784. 

Mr.  Baldwin  was  invited  by  representatives  of  St.  John's,  North 
Guilford,  and  Christ  Church,  Guilford,  in  November,  1784,  to  take  the 
lay  readership  in  those  parishes  at  a  salary  of  eighty  pounds,  Connecticut 
currency,  which  was  then  equal  to  forty  pounds  sterling,  and  the  rector- 
ship when  ordained.  As  he  had  already  commenced  his  work  at  Litch- 
field, he  felt  obliged  to  decline. 

At  the  first  ordination  by  Bishop  Seabury  in  Christ  Church,  Middle- 
town,  on  August  3,  1785,  he,  with  three  others,  was  made  deacon.  He 
was  ordained  priest  in  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  on  September  18, 
1785,  by  the  same  Bishop. 

He  immediately  entered  upon  the  rectorship  of  St.  Michael's,  Litch- 
field. 

His  work  was  well  planned  and  carefully  carried  out,  both  in  the 
parish  and  county.  He  went  all  over  the  beautiful  hills  of  Litchfield 
County  reviving  the  courage  of  neglected  and  depressed  Church  folk. 
He  saw  that  closed  churches  were  opened,  officiated  in  them  himself, 
and,  whenever  possible,  had  the  parochial  organization  completed  and 
clergymen  provided  for  them. 

With  sound  wisdom  he  continued  the  excellent  work  of  those  ardent 
missionaries,  Solomon  Palmer,  Thomas  Davies,  and  Richard  Clarke. 

In  1793  he  became  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  Stratford,  and  spent  thirty 
years  of  faithful  service  in  that  parish,  adding  to  his  labors  some  success- 
ful missionary  effort  in  the  surrounding  region.  For  many  years  he 
took  charge  of  Christ  Church,  Tashua,  which  as  North  Stratford  had 
once  been  part  of  the  mother  parish.  As  Mr.  Baldwin  grew  older  he 
felt  that  the  work  of  the  parish  needed  a  younger  man,  and  in  1824 
he  resigned. 

But  to  one  full  of  energy,  although  verging  on  old  age,  idleness  was 
impossible,  and  Mr.  Baldwin  began  to  officiate  at  Southington  and 
Meriden,  where  the  Church  was  beginning  to  make  progress.  These 
places  quickly  felt  the  benefit  of  his  ministrations. 

In  1827  he  took  charge  of  St.  John's,  North  Haven,  and  St.  Paul's, 
Wallingford.  After  five  years  of  gratifying  prosperity  for  these  ancient 
parishes,  he  accepted  temporarily  the  rectorship  of  St.  Peter's,  Oxford, 
and  Christ  Church,  Quaker  Farms.     Here  amid  rural  and  pleasant  sur- 


—135— 

roundings,  he  spent  two  years.  In  1834  he  found  that  his  eyesight  was 
failing  and  other  marks  of  old  age  were  so  apparent  that  active  work 
for  him  must  cease.  For  a  few  years  after  his  resignation  he  lived 
in  New  Haven,  Bridgeport,  and  Stratford. 

To  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese  in  1837  Mr.  Baldwin  sent  a  touch- 
ing and  pathetic  letter,  resigning  his  office  as  trustee  of  the  Episcopal 
Academy,  in  which  he  graphically  contrasted  the  condition  of  the  Church 
in  Connecticut  when  he  was  ordained  and  its  rapid  progress  in  fifty- 
two  years.  "My  days  of  pilgrimage,  I  know,  are  almost  closed,  and 
I  can  do  no  more  than  to  be  in  readiness  by  the  grace  of  God  to  leave 
the  Church  Militant  in  peace.  May  I  be  permitted,  Sir,  to  ask  the 
prayers  of  my  Bishop  and  his  clergy  that  my  last  days  may  be  happy?" 

His  closing  years  were  spent  in  the  family  of  an  old  friend  who  had 
removed  from  Connecticut  to  Rochester,  New  York,  and  who  gladly 
made  cheerful  for  him  the  weary  hours  of  inaction.  He  ended  his 
earthly  life  on  Sunday,  February  8,  1846,  having  nearly  reached  the  age 
of  eighty-nine  years.  Mr.  Baldwin  had  a  clear  and  logical  mind.  He 
was  a  ready  speaker  and  could  put  into  writing  important  papers,  resolu- 
tions, or  debates,  with  accurate  rapidity.  This  made  his  service  as 
secretary  of  the  Convocation,  as  secretary  of  the  Convention  of  the 
Diocese  for  thirty  years,  and  as  secretary  of  the  House  of  Clerical  and 
Lay  Deputies  of  the  General  Convention  for  twelve  years,  invaluable. 

Mr.  Baldwin  held  nearly  every  position  in  the  gift  of  the  Diocese  and 
filled  each  with  efficiency  and  dignity. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  the  oldest  clergyman  of  the  American 
Church  and  the  oldest  graduate  of  Yale  College. 

The  Reverend  PHILO  PERRY,  M.A. 

Philo,  a  son  of  Dr.  Joseph  and  Ruth  (Preston)  Perry,  was  born  in 
Woodbury,  Connecticut,  on  December  22,  1752.  His  father  was  a  well 
known  physician. 

His  early  education  was  received  in  the  common  schools  and  under  the 
careful  guidance  of  his  father.  In  his  twenty-first  year  he  entered  Yale 
College  and  was  graduated  in  1777. 

He  studied  medicine  and  settled  ii>  Stratford,  where  he  built  up  an 
extensive  practice. 

It  is  probable  that  he  attended  Christ  Church,  then  lovingly  served 
by  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Leaming,  and  through  his  influence  entered  upon 
a  course  of  theology. 

With  David  Belden,  "Tilley"  Bronson  and  Reuben  Ives,  he  was 
'recommended  for  ordination  by  the  Convocation  at  Derby  in  September, 
1786.  The  four  candidates  were  made  deacons  on  the  feast  of  St. 
Matthew,  September  21,  1786,  in  Christ  Church,  Derby,  by  Bishop 
Seabury. 

On  January  9,  1787,  Mr.  Perry  became  the  Rector  of  Trinity  Church, 
Newtown. 

This  parish,  one  of  the  very  oldest  in  the  Diocese,  had  been  organized 
in  1732  by  the  Rev.  John  Beach,  of  blessed  memory,  whose  long  and 


—136— 

brave  witness  for  the  truth  as  this  Church  hath  received  the  same,  had 
built  up  congregations  in  Newtown  and  Redding,  which  were  the  largest 
of  our  communion  in  the  colony. 

The  four  years  since  the  death  of  Mr.  Beach,  on  March  19,  1782, 
and  the  ravages  of  the  Revolution  had  somewhat  impaired  its  strength. 

Mr.  Perry  entered  upon  his  work  with  great  enthusiasm;  by  faithful 
industry,  patience  and  tact  he  repaired  the  waste  places  of  the  parish. 
Mr.  Perry  was  ordained  priest  in  St.  John's  Church,  Stamford,  on  Trinity 
Sunday,  June  3,  1787,  by  Bishop  Seabury,  "upon  a  Title,"  says  the 
Bishop's  Register,  "from  Christ's  Church,  Newton,  and  from  the  Church 
at  Newberry."  ^ 

As  a  pastor  Mr.  Perry  was  constant,  both  in  personal  appeals  for 
holiness  of  life  and  frequent  in  his  visitations  of  his  parishioners.  He 
is  represented  as  a  man  of  genial  manners,  a  modest  demeanor,  and 
sufficient  learning. 

His  ability  as  a  preacher  can  be  partly  judged  by  an  extract  of  a 
manuscript  sermon  of  Mr.  Perry  in  the  possession  of  the  writer  from 
the  text :  "Endeavoring  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace."  Ephesians  iv,  3.  After  considering  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  Epistle  was  written  he  develops  the  theme :  "We  cannot 
preserve  'the  unity  of  the  Spirit'  unless  we  hold  to  the  doctrines  taught 
by  the  Spirit."  In  the  course  of  his  argument,  he  insists  upon  true 
Christian  charity  to  all  men  and  the  duty  of  Christian  forgiveness.  In 
conclusion,  he  says :  "Now,  to  sum  up  the  whole  in  a  few  words :  If 
we  have  any  regard  to  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  if  we  have  any  regard 
to  our  own  welfare  in  the  present  life,  and  to  our  complete  felicity  in 
the  next,  let  us  all,  my  friends  &  Brethren,  endeavour,  by  all  the 
means  in  our  power,  'to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace.'  As  to  doctrines,  let  us  'be  perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same 
mind  &  in  the  same  judgment,' — unanimously  grounded  &  settled  in 
the  truly  excellent  and  apostolical  doctrines  of  our  Church ; — not  being 
'tossed  to  &  fro,  &  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine  by  the 
sleight  of  men,  &  cunning  craftiness,  whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive; 
for  this  never  fails  to  end  in  schism  and  separation. 

"As  to  our  behaviour  one  toward  another;  let  it  be  always  such  as 
to  show  forth  that  meek  &  quiet  spirit,  which  in  the  sight  of  God  is 
of  great  price,'  that  heavenly  wisdom  which  is  peaceable,  gentle  &  easy 
to  be  entreated.  Let  us  put  away  all  bitterness  &  wrath  &  anger 
&  clamour  &  evil  speaking  with  all  malice ;  &  be  kind  one  to  another, 
tender  hearted,  forgiving  one  another,  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake 
hath  forgiven  us.'  If  we  will  thus  be  directed  &  governed  by  the  Gospel 
law  of  Charity,  it  will  be  no  difficult  matter  to  preserve  unity,  peace,  & 
concord  in  the  Ch^i  which  that  we  may  do,  &  finally  be  united  with  the 
Church  triumphant  in  Heaven,  God  of  his  infinite  mercy  grant,  thro 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     To  whom  &c.,  &c."2 

>  P.  6.  A  Reprint  in /till  of  the  Registry  of  Ordinations  hy  Bishops  Seabu7y  and  Jarvis. 
As  published  in  the  Journal  of  A.  D.  1882,  by  order  of  the  Convention.  '*' 

2  From  a  collection  of  manuscript  sermons,  made  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Burhans.  This  sermon 
is  endorsed:  Newtown,  Nov'.  6,  1791,  and  Sepf.  29,  1793  Another  sermon  of  Mr.  Perry 
from  Romans  viii,  16,  is  endorsed  :  Newtown,  Aug'.  7,  1796,  Aug'.  13,  1797,  and  Brook- 
field,  May  6,  1798. 


—137— 

Within  five  years  after  Mr.  Perry's  settlement  in  Newtown  a  new 
church  seemed  necessary.  It  replaced  that  built  in  1746,  which  was  forty- 
six  feet  long  and  thirty-five  feet  wide. 

The  new  church  was  considered  very  spacious  and  elegant  and  served 
the  parish  for  nearly  eighty  years. 

The  consecration  was  on  Thursday,  September  19,  1793.  by  Bishop 
Seabury,  it  being  the  fifth  church  consecrated  by  him  in  the  Diocese. 

Mr.  Perry  continued  for  five  years  more  to  minister  in  holy  things 
to  the  people  of  Newtown,  but  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness  he  departed 
this  life  on  October  26,  1798,  in  the  forty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

While  still  young  in  his  ministry,  he  had  obtained  the  confidence  and 
regard  of  his  Bishop  and  brethren  of  the  clergy. 

He  was  secretary  of  the  Convocation,  secretary  of  the  Convention,  a 
member  and  secretary  of  the  Standing  Committee,  and  a  deputy  to  the 
General  Convention. 

When  the  present  Trinity  Church,  Newtown,  was  consecrated  on  June 
8,  1882,  there  were  unveiled  four  mural  tablets  of  marble  and  brass 
commemorating  the  founder  and  three  other  rectors  of  the  parish.  Upon 
that  in  memory  of  Mr.  Perry  there  is  this  truthful  inscription : 

"He  was  the  devoted  and  efficient  Rector  of  this  Parish— and  a  Clergy- 
man of  eminence  in  the  Councils  of  the  Church." 

The  Reverend  REUBEN  IVES,  M.A. 

Reuben,  a  son  of  Mr.  Zachariah  Ives,  was  born  in  Cheshire,  Connecti- 
cut, on  October  26,  1762. 

His  early  life  and  preliminary  education  were  in  his  native  town. 
In  his  twentieth  year  he  entered  Yale  College,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  1786. 

It  had  been  from  boyhood  his  cherished  desire  to  enter  the  holy 
ministry.  The  lack  of  clergymen  was  so  great  in  the  Diocese  that 
Bishop  Seabury  was  willing  to  ordain  him  without  full  theological 
preparation  with  the  understanding  that  he  would  give  attention  to  such 
studies  during  his  diaconate.  Mr.  Ives  was  recommended  for  ordination 
by  the  Convocation  during  its  meeting  at  Derby  in  September,  1786. 

On  St.  Matthew's  Day,  September  21,  1786,  he  was  made  deacon  with 
three  others,  in  Christ  Church,  Derby,  by  Bishop  Seabury. 

The  great  privilege  was  accorded  to  the  young  deacon  of  becommg 
a  member  of  the  Bishop's  household  and  pursuing  under  his  direction 
a  thorough  course  in  patristic  and  Anglican  theology,  liturgies  and 
Church  history.  Mr.  Ives  also  had  practical  instruction  in  pastoral 
theology  by  acting  as  the  Bishop's  assistant  in  St.  James's  Church,  New 
London,  and  during  the  necessary  absences  of  the  Bishop  taking  charge 
of  the  pastoral  work. 

On    St.    Matthias'    Day,    February   24,    1788,    Reuben    Ives,    Tillotson 
Bronson    and    Chauncey    Prindle    were    ordained    priests,    and    Edward 
Blakeslee  made  deacon  in  St.  James's  Church,  New  London,  by  Bishop 
Seabury. 
He  became  at  once  Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Cheshire. 


-138- 

The  earliest  services  of  the  Church  in  that  town,  which  was  until 
1780  "the  western  society  of  Wallingford,"  although  the  name  New 
Cheshire  was  given  to  it  from  1720,  were  about  1750.  It  formed  part 
of  the  mission  field  of  the  Rev.  Ichabod  Camp,  Rector  of  Christ  Church, 
Middletown,  from  1752  to  1760.  It  was  faithfully  served  by  him  for 
eight  years.  It  then  came  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Andrews, 
missionary  at  Wallingford,  who  took  great  pains  to  implant  true  Church 
principles  in  the  people  of  Cheshire.  The  first  church,  which  was  a 
square  building,  forty-two  by  forty-two  feet,  and  very  high,  was  erected 
in  1760.  Upon  Mr.  Andrews'  removal  to  Nova  Scotia  in  1785,  there 
had  been  only  occasional  services  until  Mr.  Ives  was  summoned  home 
to  be  the  first  resident  rector.  By  agreement  he  gave  to  Cheshire  two- 
thirds  of  his  time  and  spent  the  remainder  in  officiating  in  the  neighbor- 
ing towns,  particularly  Wallingford  and  North  Haven. 

By  his  faithful  ministrations  the  congregations  were  so  increased  that 
in  1795  an  enlargement  of  the  church  was  necessary. 

There  was  long  current  among  the  elder  clergy  of  the  Diocese  a  story 
that  when  Bishop  Seabury  on  a  visitation  to  Cheshire  was  told  by  one 
of  the  parishioners  that  the  parish  was  intending  to  add  a  steeple  to  the 
church,  he  quickly  replied  with  one  of  his  bright  flashes  of  wit :  "You 
had  better  build  a  Church  to  your  steeple. 

When  the  plan  for  an  Academy  for  the  education  of  the  children  of 
the  Church  was  proposed  by  Bishop  Seabury  and  some  of  the  clergy,  Mr. 
Ives  was  one  of  its  firmest  supporters.  He  thought  that  Cheshire  pos- 
sessed many  advantages  and  was  instrumental  in  locating  there  the 
Episcopal  Academy. 

Until  1820  he  was  diligent  in  labor  and  careful  in  the  administration 
of  the  parish.  The  causes  of  his  resignation  are  only  thus  alluded  to 
by  Dr.  Beardsley,  the  historian  of  the  parish :  "Circumstances  then,  of 
which  it  is  needless  now  to  speak,  led  to  a  dissolution  of  a  connection 
which  had  existed  for  a  period  of  more  than  thirty  years.  During  this 
time,  the  Church  had  apparently  been  visited  with  the  love  and  favor  of 
God."' 

Mr.  Ives'  work  did  not  cease  in  other  parts  of  the  county  when  he 
resigned  the  rectorship  of  Cheshire,  and  it  is  the  testimony  of  those  who 
know  that  several  parishes  in  the  county  of  New  Haven  were  by  him 
rescued  from  an  almost  moribund  condition  and  restored  to  vigor  and 
prosperity. 

Mr.  Ives  died  at  his  home  in  Cheshire  on  October  14,  1836,  having 
nearly  reached  his  seventy-fourth  year. 

He  was  one  of  the  humble  and  meek  of  the  earth,  whose  work  and 
labor  of  love  were  indeed  appreciated  by  his  contemporaries,  but  did  not 
make  him  well  known  to  the  Church  at  large. 

'  P.  10.  A  Historical  Sermon  delivered  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  Cheshire,  July  28"',  1S39  ! 
it  being  the  last  Sunday  on  which  divine  service  was  performed  in  the  old  Church.  By 
Rev.  E.  E.  Beardsley,  Rector  of  the  Parish.  *  *  *  Hartford ;  Printed  by  Case,  Tiflfany  & 
Co.,  Pearl  Street,  1839.    Bvo,  pp.  16. 


—139— 

The  Reverend  CHAUNCEY  PRINDLE,  M.A. 

Chauncey,  the  only  son  of  Eleazar  and  Anna  (Scovill)  Prindle,  was 
born  in  that  part  of  Waterbiiry,  Connecticut,  then  called  Westbury,  now 
Watertown,  on  July  13,  1753.  After  being  instructed  in  the  district 
schools  he  was  carefully  prepared  for  college  by  his  uncle,  the  Rev. 
James  Scovill,  Rector  of  St.  John's,  Waterbury.  He  entered  Yale  College 
in  his  nineteenth  year  and  graduated  with  honor  in  1776.  During  the 
years  of  the  Revolution  he  remained  at  home,  and  like  other  young  men 
who  could  not  serve  in  the  Continental  Army,  cultivated  his  father's 
farm  to  supply  a  portion  of  the  food  needed  by  the  troops  in  the  field. 
It  is  also  probable  that  he  assisted  his  uncle  in  the  wide  missionary  circuit 
assigned  to  Waterbury. 

With  Philo  Shelton  he  studied  theology  under  his  uncle's  direction. 
After  due  examination  he  was  recommended  for  ordination  by  the 
convocation  at  its  meeting  in  Stamford  on  May  31,  1787.  With  Ambrose 
Todd  and  Bethuel  Chittenden  he  was  made  deacon  in  St.  John's  Church, 
Stamford,  on  Friday,  June  i,  1787. 

His  uncle  had  in  the  fall  of  1785  received  an  offer  from  the  Venerable 
Society  to  settle  in  New  Brunswick,  with  a  competent  salary.  The  neces- 
sities of  his  family  by  the  withdrawal  from  Missionaries  of  the  Venera- 
ble Society  remaining  in  the  United  States  of  the  stipends  they  had 
received  induced  him  to  accept.  During  his  absences  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, Mr.  Prindle  supplied  his  place.  When  finally  Mr.  Scovill  gave  up 
his  temporary  arrangement  of  spending  the  winters  in  Waterbury  and 
the  summers  in  his  new  parish  of  Kingston,  New  Brunswick,  and  in 
March,  1788,  settled  permanently  in  New  Brunswick,  Mr.  Prindle  was 
able  to  officiate  until  a  rector  was  called  for  Waterbury.  Mr.  Prindle 
had  been  lay  reader  in  Watertown  for  some  years  previous  to  his 
ordination. 

On  February  15,  1788,  he  was  formally  called  to  be  minister  of  St. 
Peter's,  Northbury  (now  Plymouth),  at  a  salary  of  thirty-seven  pounds 
and  ten  shillings.  During  the  same  month  he  was  also  called  to  be 
minister  of  Christ  Church,  Watertown,  at  a  salary  of  thirty  pounds.  It 
was  stipulated  that  his  time  should  be  equitably  divided  between  them. 

Mr.  Prindle  went  to  New  London  soon  after  accepting  the  calls  and 
was,  at  the  same  time  with  Reuben  Ives  and  Tillotson  Bronson,  ordained 
priest  on  St.  Matthias'  Day,  February  24,  1788,  in  St.  James's  Church,  by 
Bishop  Seabury.  His  work  in  Watertown  and  Plymouth  was  earnest, 
judicious,  and  successful.  So  rapid  was  the  growth  of  the  parish  that 
the  church  built  in  1765,  whose  dimensions  were  thirty-seven  by  forty- 
five  feet,  was  too  small.  A  new  church  was  determined  upon,  a  better 
site  procured  for  it  and  a  building  larger  and  upon  "a  more  elegant 
plan"  was  erected.  It  was  occupied  in  the  fall  of  1793,  and  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Seabury  on  November  18,  1794.  This  served  the  parish  until 
1855,  when  a  beautiful  Gothic  church  was  completed  and  consecrated. 

At  Plymouth  the  increase  was  equally  gratifying.  A  church  was 
needed  to  replace  that  which  had  been  built  about  1740.  The  only 
difficulty   was    in    agreeing   upon   a    suitable    location ;     finally   the    new 


—Ho- 
st. Peter's  was  built  in  1796,  and  opened  during  the  fall  of  that  year. 
It  was  consecrated  on  November  2,   1797,  by  Bishop  Jarvis,  being  the 
second  of  those  consecrated  by  that  prelate.     It  still  stands  upon  its  hill- 
top and  its  doors  are  still  open  for  the  service  of  prayer  and  praise. 

Mr.  Prindle  continued  to  be  the  able  pastor  and  persuasive  preacher 
at  Watertown  until  1804,  when  he  resigned  to  give  his  time  more  fully 
to  Plymouth,  which  had  felt  severely  the  loss  of  many  of  its  families 
who  had  removed  to  the  "western  wilderness,"  which  was  then  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Whitestown,  a  few  miles  beyond  Utica,  New  York. 
In  his  farewell  sermon  at  Christ  Church,  Watertown,  Mr.  Prindle  stated 
that  thirty  families  had  been  added  to  the  congregation,  there  had  been 
three  hundred  and  eighty-one  baptisms,  eighty-six  marriages  and  sixty- 
six  burials. 

An  incident  of  his  pastoral  work  was  long  told  in  Watertown  as  show- 
ing his  determination  to  overcome  obstacles.  He  had  promised  to 
preach  at  St.  John's  Church  and  to  baptize  some  children  in  Waterbury 
whose  parents  were  about  to  remove  to  the  West.  It  was  the  mid- 
summer of  179s,  and  there  was  no  clergyman  in  Waterbury.  Between 
Watertown  and  Waterbury  flows  the  Naugatuck  river,  which  is  about 
a  third  of  a  mile  wide.  It  was  usually  crossed  in  a  canoe  or  forded  by 
travellers  on  horseback.  Some  distance  beyond  the  village  was  a  bridge. 
Mr.  Prindle  expected  to  cross  in  the  canoe,  but  upon  reaching  the  place 
where  it  was  kept  he  found  that  the  summer  rains  had  so  swollen  the 
river  that  the  canoe  had  disappeared.  To  retrace  his  steps  and  cross  by 
the  bridge  would  make  him  late  for  his  appointment.  He  plunged  boldly 
into  the  rapid  stream  and  swam  across  in  time  to  meet  his  friends,  baptize 
their  children  and  send  them  to  their  new  home  rejoicing.  In  1806 
Mr.  Prindle  resigned  the  charge  of  Plymouth,  where  he  had  been  able  in 
the  two  years  he  devoted  to  that  work  to  build  up  again  the  congregation. 
During  the  eighteen  years  of  his  pastorate  he  had  baptized  three  hundred 
and  thirty-nine  persons,  married  seventeen  couples,  and  buried  sixty 
persons. 

In  1806  he  became  rector  of  St.  Michael's  Church,  Salem  (now 
Naugatuck),  and  also  of  St.  Peter's,  Oxford.  His  charge  of  Salem 
continued  until  1814,  but  he  remained  at  Oxford  to  the  close  of  his  life, 
the  same  clear  and  sound  preacher  and  good  pastor  as  in  his  first 
charge. 

A  church  was  soon  commenced  at  Salem,  and  that  in  Oxford  improved. 
St.  Peter's,  Oxford,  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Hobart  on  his  memorable 
first  visitation  of  the  Diocese,  on  October  21,  1816. 

Mr.  Prindle  was  a  real  missionary  and  in  every  hamlet  near  his  home 
was  well  known  and  honored.  For  some  years  he  held  services  in 
Amity  in  Woodbridge,  and  in  the  later  years  of  his  life  Christ  Church, 
Bethany  received  his  ministrations.  Until  extreme  old  age  he  labored  in 
the  Gospel  without  diminution  of  energy  or  fervor. 

He  died  at  his  home  in  North  Oxford  on  August  25,  1833,  in  tne 
eighty-first  year  of  his  age  and  was  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Gunn- 
town. 


—141— 

The  Reverend  DAVID  FOOTE,  M.A. 

David,  a  son  of  Asa  Foote,  and  a  direct  descendant  of  Nathaniel  Foote, 
one  of  the  original  settlers  of  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  was  born  in 
that  part  of  Colchester  now  Marlborough,  on  October  5,  1760.  His 
early  years  were  spent  in  his  native  town,  where  he  was  fitted  for  college. 
In  his  twelfth  year  he  entered  Dartmouth  College  and  was  graduated  in 
1776. 

This  college  in  the  woods  of  New  Hampshire  had  under  Dr.  Eleazar 
Wheelock,  its  first  president,  an  enviable  reputation  for  scholarship. 

There  is  no  account  of  his  occupations  during  twelve  years  after  his 
graduation. 

The  parish  of  St.  Peter,  Hebron,  was  the  nearest  to  Colchester,  and  the 
few  churchmen  in  that  town  attended  its  services. 

The  greater  part  of  St.  Peter's  congregation  were  patriots,  but  its 
rector,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Peters,  one  of  the  celebrities  of  the  colony  for  his 
missionary  zeal,  intense  dislike  of  the  "Standing  Order,"  and  his  literary 
ability,  was  an  outspoken  and  aggressive  loyalist.  He  went  to  England 
in  1774.  It  is  possible  that  Mr.  Foote  officiated  at  St.  Peter's  although 
no  traditions  or  records  for  that  period  of  the  parish  history  have  been 
preserved. 

The  Rev.  John  Tyler,  of  Christ  Church,  Norwich,  went  out  from  that 
centre  into  all  the  surrounding  country  upon  periodical  missionary 
journeys.  Mr.  Tyler  may  have  encouraged  Mr.  Foote  to  study  for  holy 
orders  and  superintended  his  studies.  In  June,  1788,  the  rector  of  Nor- 
wich presented  him  to  the  Bishop  at  New  London  for  examination  for 
the  order  of  deacon.  This  ordeal  was  successfully  passed,  and  on  St. 
Barnabas  Day,  June  11,  1788,  David  Foote  was  made  deacon  by  Bishop 
Seabury  in  St.  James's  Church,  New  London. 

Mr.  Foote  was  licensed  to  preach  and  was  appointed  "to  serve  in  the 
congregations  of  Hebron  and  Chatham." 

The  congregation  that  is  meant  in  Chatham  is  evidently  that  at  Middle 
Haddam,  where  a  parish  was  formed  in  1785  and  a  church  built  in  1787 ; 
for  the  parish  in  the  portion  of  Chatham  known  now  as  Portland  was  not 
organized  until  September,  1788.  There  seems  to  be  no  records  of  Mr. 
Foote's  ministrations  in  the  archives  of  either  parish  in  the  town  of 
Chatham. 

Christ  Church,  Middle  Haddam,  was  until  1791  under  the  charge  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Jarvis  of  Middletown,  as  was  also  Trinity  Church,  Portland. 
The  first  rector  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  the  parishes  who  was  resident 
is  the  Rev.  Tillotson  Bronson,  in  1791. 

Mr.  Foote,  although  he  has  been  almost  forgotten,  did  diligently  in 
Chatham  and  Hebron  the  varied  duties  of  the  ministry. 

From  his  work  of  restoration  and  upbuilding  he  was  called  to  the 
ancient  parish  of  Grace  (now  Christ)  Church,  Rye,  Westchester  County, 
New  York. 

In  this  well  ordered  and  settled  community  he  found  his  efforts  for 
greater  temporal  prosperity  and  spiritual  growth  fully  seconded  by  the 


— 142 — 

members  of  his  new  parish.  A  large  increase  in  attendants  and  com- 
municants was  soon  apparent.  But  as  he  was  maturing  plans  for  the 
future  he  was  suddenly  taken  from  this  world  on  August  i,  1793,  in  the 
thirty-third  year  of  his  age. 

His  brief  ministry  showed  his  courage,  his  endurance,  and  his  patience 
and  held  large  promise  of  a  brilliant  and  faithful  career. 

Mr.  Foote  retained  his  interest  in  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut,  attended 
regularly  its  convocations  and  conventions  and  was  reckoned  among  its 
clergy.  His  name  is  also  found  upon  the  clergy  list  of  the  Diocese  of 
New  York. 

The  Reverend  ABRAHAM  LYNSEN  CLARKE,  M.A. 

Abraham  Lynsen  Clarke  is  said  to  have  been  a  native  of  Milford, 
Connecticut,  but  his  parentage,  date  of  birth,  and  the  events  of  his  early 
years  do  not  seem  to  be  known. 

He  was  graduated  from  Yale  College  in  1785,  and  then,  according  to 
tradition,  became  lay  reader  in  St.  Peter's  Church  in  his  native  town. 

When  the  Rev  Henry  Van  Dyck  left  Milford  to  assume  the  rectorship 
of  Christ  Church,  Poughkeepsie  and  Trinity  Church,  Fishkill,  Mr.  Clarke 
was  left  in  charge  of  St.  Peter's  Church.  With  Bryan  Fairfax,  of  Vir- 
ginia, he  was  made  deacon  by  Bishop  Seabury  in  Christ  Church,  Stam- 
ford, on  June  9,  1786.  In  the  spring  of  1787  he  became  rector  of  St. 
Paul's  Church,  Huntington,  in  succession  to  the  Rev.  Christopher  New- 
ton, who  had  died  on  February  6,  1787.  He  was  also  rector  of  Christ 
Church,  Tashua,  to  which  he  gave  one-third  of  his  time. 

He  served  these  parishes  with  devotion  and  discretion  during  his 
diaconate.  Upon  Trinity  Sunday,  June  7,  1789,  in  St.  Paul's  Church, 
Norwalk,  with  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Todd  and  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Hull,  he 
was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Seabury. 

A  new  church  was  commenced  at  Tashua  in  1789.  It  was  fifty  feet  in 
length,  thirty  feet  in  breadth,  and  twenty-four  feet  in  height.  The 
church  was  finished  in  1790  and  consecrated  by  Bishop  Seabury  on  June 

B,  1795- 

The  death  in  September,  1792,  of  the  Rev.  Moses  Badger,  rector  of 
King's  Chapel,  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  made  a  vacancy  in  that 
important  and  desirable  parish.  The  vestry  followed  the  suggestion  of 
the  Rev.  William  Smith,  then  at  Newport,  and  invited  the  Rev.  John 
Bowden  to  the  parish.  His  loss  of  voice  compelled  him  to  decline  and 
he  cordially  commended  Mr.  Clarke  as  a  clergyman  who  would  fill 
admirably  the  rectorship  of  that  parish.  Bishop  Seabury  wrote  to  the 
vestry  that  Mr.  Clarke  was  "not  only  a  gentleman  of  good  character  and 
understanding,  but  also  of  easy  and  polite  manners,  and  of  diligence  in 
his  profession." 

Mr.  Clarke  commenced  his  duties  on  Easter  Day,  March  31,  1793,  and 
remained  with  growing  appreciation  in  Providence  for  seven  years. 
There  was  increase  in  the  congregation  and  general  prosperity  in  the 
parish  during  his  incumbency.  In  1794  the  name  of  the  corporation  was 
changed  from  King's  Chapel  to  St.  John's  Church. 


—143— 

Mr.  Clarke  resigned  on  March  30,  1800,  and  soon  after  took  charge 
of  St.  Michael's  Church,  Bristol,  Rhode  Island.  This  was  one  of  the 
oldest  parishes  in  New  England,  having  been  founded  in  1719.  The 
beloved  and  venerated  John  Usher  was  then  rector.  He  was  the  first 
child  baptized  in  the  parish,  and  after  the  death  of  his  father,  the  Rev. 
John  Usher,  in  1775,  whose  connection  with  St.  Michael's  extended  over 
fifty-two  years,  had  kept  it  alive  by  reading  the  service.  Mr.  Usher  in 
his  seventy-third  year  received  holy  orders  and  with  all  the  energy  of  a 
young  man  maintained  the  services  and  did  his  parish  work.  Feeling 
in  his  eightieth  year  the  need  of  some  relief,  Mr.  Clarke  was  called  to 
his  assistance. 

Mr.  Clarke's  work  was  commendable  and  he  showed  great  considera- 
tion to  his  colleague.  From  some  cause  not  fully  ascertainable  dissension 
arose  in  the  parish  and  early  in  1803  Mr.  Clarke  resigned. 

He  accepted  the  united  parishes  of  St.  James,  Newtown,  and  St. 
George's,  Flushing,  on  Long  Island,  and  was  inducted  into  them  in  the 
spring  of  1803. 

The  Church  of  England  had  been  established  on  Long  Island  in  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Jamaica  was  the  chief  parish  at  the 
western  end  of  the  island.  Newtown  and  Flushing  had  from  their  organi- 
zation been  associated  with  it  under  the  charge  of  one  incumbent. 

The  blindness  and  other  infirmities  of  the  Rev.  William  Hammell, 
rector  in  1794,  led  to  a  severing  of  the  long  connection  between  Jamaica 
and  the  outlying  parishes.  The  Rev.  Henry  Van  Dyck  became  in  1795 
rector  of  St.  James,  Newtown,  and  also  officiated  at  Flushing. 

The  resignation  of  Mr.  Van  Dyck  in  the  winter  of  1802-03  led  to  a 
formal  union  of  the  two  congregations  at  Newtown  and  Flushing.  It 
was  probably  due  to  the  knowledge  Mr.  Van  Dyck  had  of  Mr.  Clarke 
that  the  call  was  made  by  the  vestries  of  these  parishes. 

In  the  exacting  but  pleasant  and  varied  duties  of  a  country  parson 
Mr.  Clarke  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  died  at  St.  James's 
parsonage,  Newtown,  on  December  31,  1810. 

The  Reverend  AMBROSE  HULL,  M.A. 

Ambrose  Hull  is,  traditionally,  a  native  of  Cheshire,  Connecticut. 

No  authentic  documents  are  available  concerning  his  ancestry,  early 
years,  and  many  events  of  his  life. 

He  is  known  to  have  been  graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1785, 
and  afterward  to  have  pursued  the  study  of  theology.  He  was  recom- 
mended by  the  convocation  at  its  meeting  in  North  Haven  on  October 
22,  1788.  The  entry  in  the  Bishop's  register  gives  the  date  of  the  ordi- 
nation of  Mr.  Hull  as  deacon  as  "Sunday  the  12th  day  of  October,  1788," 
in  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven.  The  candidate  was  presented  by  the 
Rev.  Jeremiah  Learning.  To  the  entry  in  his  register  Bishop  Seabury 
appends  this :  "'Note  :  The  following  registry  of  the  ordinations  of  Mr. 
Foot  and  Dr.  Nesbitt  ought  to  have  preceded  that  of  Mr.  Hull."^    The 

1  P.  7.    A  Reprint  in  full  of  the  Registry  of  Ordinations  by  Bishops  Seabury  and  Jarvis. 


—144— 

exact  date  of  the  ordination  it  is  impossible  now  to  ascertain.  Mr.  Hull 
was  licensed  to  preach  and  "appointed  to  officiate  as  Deacon  at  Reading." 
The  parish  of  Christ  Church,  Reading,  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  Diocese. 
Under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  the  Rev. 
Henry  Caner  established  Church  of  England  services  there  in  1727.  The 
congregation  came  under  the  pastoral  oversight  of  the  Rev.  John  Beach, 
that  noble  confessor,  until  his  death  in  1782.  The  first  church  was  built 
in  1732,  but  as  the  congregation  increased  rapidly  a  larger  church  was 
erected  in  1750.  After  the  Revolution  the  Rev.  Richard  S.  Clarke  of 
New  Milford  officiated  occasionally.  Mr.  Truman  Marsh,  of  Litchfield, 
acted  as  lay  reader  until  1786,  when  Mr.  David  Belden  was  made  deacon 
and  began  a  brief  ministry. 

On  June  7th,  1789,  Mr.  Hull  was  made  priest  in  St.  Paul's  Church, 
Norwalk,  by  Bishop  Seabury  at  the  same  time  with  the  Rev.  Abraham 
Lynsen  Clarke  and  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Todd.  Mr.  Hull  continued  in 
charge  of  Reading  until  1791,  when  he  resigned.  It  is  not  certain  that 
he  took  another  parish  immediately.  In  1792  he  was  rector  of  the 
"Episcopal  Church  of  Brooklyn,"  afterward  St.  Ann's  Church.  He  suc- 
ceeded the  Rev.  Elijah  D.  Rattoone,  who  had  become  a  professor  in 
Columbia  College. 

The  incompleteness  of  the  records  of  St.  Ann's  Church  for  this  period 
is  an  obstacle  to  ascertaining  the  cause  of  Mr.  Hull's  sudden  resigna- 
tion early  in  January,  1793. 

Mr.  Hull's  name  does  not  appear  in  the  Journal  of  any  diocese  or  of 
the  General  Convention  after  1792.  There  is  no  record  of  his  deposition 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  any  moral  delinquency  on  his  part. 
Like  two  or  three  other  clergymen  of  that  period,  notably  the  Rev.  James 
Kilbourn,  deacon,  who  became  after  a  brief  ministerial  career  a  prominent 
politician  in  Ohio,  Mr.  Hull  apparently  ceased  to  execute  the  priest's 
office. 

His  later  years  are  said  to  have  been  spent  in  South  Carolina,  Ohio, 
and  Florida.  He  is  reported  to  have  won  political  honors  and  ascended 
the  judicial  bench  in  East  Florida,  where  it  is  supposed  he  died  in  1821. 

The  Reverend  TRUMAN  MARSH,  M.A. 

Truman  Marsh  was  born  in  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  on  February  24, 
1768.  After  completing  the  course  in  the  common  schools  he  was  well 
fitted  for  college  by  the  Rev.  George  Beckwith,  the  Congregational 
minister  of  Litchfield  South  Farms  (now  Morris).  He  was  graduated 
from  Yale  College  in  1786. 

It  was  then  customary  for  Yale  graduates  to  seek  employment  as 
tutors  in  the  southern  states.  Mr.  Marsh  went  to  Maryland  and  became 
an  instructor  in  Cokesbury  College,  near  Baltimore,  under  the  Rev.  Levi 
Heath.  Mr.  Heath  gave  him  a  full  theological  course,  and  probably  was 
his  presenter  when  he  was  made  deacon  by  Bishop  White  on  March 
5,  1789. 


—145— 

After  his  ordination,  in  addition  to  his  duties  in  the  college,  he  assisted 
Mr.  Heath  in  the  parochial  work  of  St.  John's  parish,  Baltimore. 

For  various  reasons  Mr.  Marsh  was  desirous  to  become  a  clergyman 
in  his  native  state  and  on  that  account  refused  the  principalship  of 
Cokesbury  College. 

In  a  letter  to  Bishop  Seabury  written  from  Philadelphia  on  August 
II,  1789,  Bishop  White  refers  to  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Marsh  and  his 
work  in  Maryland,  which  was  earnest  and  acceptable.  The  Bishop  also 
says :  "I  believe  him  to  be  a  deserving  young  man  and  of  unblemished 
morals."* 

The  ancient  and  influential  parish  of  St.  John's,  New  Milford,  founded 
in  1742  by  the  Rev.  John  Beach,  became  vacant  by  the  removal  of  the 
Rev.  Tillotson  Bronson,  who  had  been  temporarily  in  charge. 

Mr.  Marsh  was  invited  in  1790  to  become  its  rector  and  accepted. 

He  entered  upon  his  duties  soon  after  his  ordination  to  the  priesthood. 
The  "Records"  show  that  this  service  was  in  the  old  "meeting  house" 
near  the  Litchfield  Green  on  June  2,  1790,  by  Bishop  Seabury,  and  that 
Mr.  Marsh  had  been  recommended  by  the  clergy  of  Connecticut. 

Mr.  Marsh's  work  in  New  Milford,  Roxbury,  and  New  Preston,  which 
were  included  in  his  cure,  was  characterized  by  tact,  zeal  and  success. 

The  second  church  building  in  New  Milford,  erected  in  1765,  had 
remained  unfinished.  The  sale  by  the  town  of  "highway  lands"  and  the 
division  of  the  proceeds  among  the  several  "ecclesiastical  societies"  of 
the  town  materially  benefited  the  parish.  Ultimately  the  share  of  St. 
John's  Church  was  forty-six  pounds.  With  twenty-seven  poiinds,  which 
had  been  paid  in  1793,  and  other  contributions,  the  church  was  com- 
pleted. Among  the  "improvements"  was  a  front  gallery  and  a  high 
pulpit  with  winding  stairs. 

The  church  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Seabury  on  September  25,  1793. 

In  1799  the  Rev.  David  Butler  resigned  his  charge  of  St.  Michael's, 
Litchfield. 

Mr.  Marsh's  townsmen  appreciated  him  and  he  was  asked  to  become 
the  successor  of  Mr.  Butler. 

Mr.  Marsh  removed  to  Litchfield  late  in  1799.  He  there  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life;  thirty  years  of  it  in  hard  and  exacting  work. 
He  was  ever  punctual  in  the  performance  of  his  duty  and  went  into  every 
nook  and  corner  of  the  town.     He  was  known  and  beloved  by  every  one. 

As  his  health  and  endurance  began  to  fail  after  1810,  he  was  obliged 
to  have  the  help  of  assistants ;  among  them  were  the  Rev.  Dr.  Isaac 
Jones,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  S.  Stone  and  the  Rev.  William  Lucas.  In  1830, 
having  fallen  into  a  state  of  nervous  hypochondria,  he  felt  obliged  to 
resign,  very  much  to  the  regret  of  his  parishioners. 

It  is  said  that  during  the  later  months  of  his  active  ministry  he  became 
so  much  depressed  that  he  shrank  from  officiating.  A  simple  remedy 
administered  by  his  wife  encouraged  him.  He  mounted  his  horse  and 
attended  by  his  man  servant  proceeded  to  church,  where  he  read  the 

1  P.  338.     Connecticut  Church  Docutnents^  II. 


— 146 — 

service  with  dignity  and  preached  with  logical  power  and  eloquence  two 
admirable  sermons.  In  his  retirement  he  did  not  wholly  omit  clerical 
duty. 

He  remained  to  be  the  confidant  and  adviser  of  many  of  his  former 
parishioners,  the  counsellor  and  friend  of  his  successors  in  the  parish, 
and  a  venerable  and  respected  senior  among  his  brethren  of  the  clergy. 

Mr.  Marsh  ended  his  earthly  life  on  March  28,  1851,  in  the  eighty- 
fourth  year  of  his  age. 

His  funeral  was  largely  attended  from  the  Congregational  church, 
as  the  old  St.  Michael's  had  been  demolished  and  the  new  one  was  not 
completed.  The  full  Church  service  was  used  and  a  funeral  sermon 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Benjamin  W.  Stone,  rector  of  the  parish. 

Mr.  Marsh  was  entrusted  with  various  diocesan  offices,  among  them 
membership  on  the  Standing  Committee,  trusteeship  in  several  boards, 
and  a  clerical  deputyship  in  the  General  Convention. 

In  his  Convention  address  in  1851,  Bishop  Brownell  says :  "Few  of  his 
brethren  have  surpassed  him  for  clearness  of  mind,  simplicity  of  char- 
acter, purity  of  life,  and  faithfulness  to  the  trust  committed  to  him. 
This  venerable  brother  has  been  taken  from  us  like  a  shock  of  corn  fully 
ripe."  The  Rev.  Alonzo  B.  Chapin  in  his  "Sketches  of  the  Early  Clergy" 
gives  this  characterization :  "a  fine  scholar,  an  acceptable  preacher,  an 
able  instructor,  a  man  of  pure  character  and  unblemished  reputation.'" 

The  Reverend  EDWARD  BLAKESLEE,  M.A. 

Edward,  a  son  of  Abraham  Blakeslee,  was  born  in  North  Haven, 
Connecticut,  on  June  27,  1766.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
and  entered  Yale  College,  where  he  took  a  high  rank,  before  his  twentieth 
year.  He  was  compelled  to  leave  college  in  his  Junior  year  on  account 
of  the  sickness  and  death  of  his  parents. 

From  1786  he  had  acted  as  lay  reader  for  St.  John's  Church,  North 
Haven.  The  congregation  were  very  much  pleased  with  his  manner 
of  conducting  the  service  and  wished  him  to  obtain  holy  orders.  At 
"a  meeting  in  the  red  school  house  near  Dr.  Trumbull's  Church,"  Mr. 
Blakeslee  was  requested  to  ride  to  New  London  and  be  ordained.  Three 
dollars  were  voted  for  his  expenses. 

Mr.  Blakeslee  went  to  New  London  bearing  letters  of  commendation 
from  the  Rev.  Drs.  Mansfield,  Leaming,  and  Hubbard,  also  the  votes 
of  the  meeting  of  the  congregation  of  St.  John's  Church.  He  had  a 
pleasant  interview  with  Bishop  Seabury  and  successfully  passed  the 
required  examinations. 

On  Sunday,  February  24,  1788,  the  feast  of  St.  Matthias,  he  was  made 
deacon  in  St.  James's  Church,  New  London,  by  Bishop  Seabury.  At  the 
same  service  the  Rev.  Reuben  Ives,  the  Rev.  Chauncey  Prindle,  and  the 
Rev.  Tillotson  Bronson  were  ordained  priests. 

Mr.  Blakeslee  was  expected  by  the  people  of  St.  John's  to  become  their 
minister.     He,  however,  accepted  the  invitation  of  Trinity  Church,  Bran- 

•  The  Calendar^  August  19,  1854. 


—147— 

ford,  and  for  two  years  worked  with  faithful  diligence  in  that  parish, 
with  which  were  then  associated  Christ  Church,  Guilford,  and  St.  John's, 
North  Guilford.  To  properly  care  for  them  required  much  riding  and 
constant  vigilance. 

In  1790  Mr.  Blakeslee  resigned,  returned  to  his  native  town,  and 
accepted  the  pastorate  of  St.  John's  and  St.  Andrew's,  Northford.  He 
was  also  expected  to  explore  the  surrounding  country  for  churchmen 
and  organize  new  congregations  wherever  it  could  be  done.  During  his 
ministry  a  parish  was  formed  at  Hamden  and  named  Grace  Church. 

In  1791  Mr.  Blakeslee  became  assistant  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mansfield  at 
Derby.  He  was  to  assist  in  the  services,  preach  occasionally,  and  also 
to  visit  and  hold  service  in  rem.ote  parts  of  the  town. 

On  Sunday,  July  9,  1793,  Mr.  Blakeslee  was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop 
Seabury  at  the  same  time  with  Rev.  Solomon  Blakeslee,  the  Rev.  Russel 
Catling,  and  the  Rev.  David  Butler  in  Christ  Church,  Middletown.  In 
the  Bishop's  register  is  noted  that  he  was  appointed  "to  the  cure  of 
Woodbridge  for  one-half  his  time,  the  other  half  as  assistant  to  the  Rev'd 
Dr.  Mansfield  at  Derby." 

In  this  double  duty  he  was  diligent  and  faithful. 

In  that  part  of  Derby  then  known  as  Chusetown,  afterward 
Humphreysville  (now  Seymour),  a  parish  was  organized  in  February, 
1797.  With  this  the  congregation  worshipping  on  Great  Hill  was  united 
and  the  new  corporation  took  the  name  of  Union  Church.  Mr.  Blakeslee 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  a  church  building  for  that  parish  during  the 
early  spring  of  1797  which  was  framed  and  enclosed  before  the  following 
winter.  It  was  not  fully  completed  and  ready  for  consecration  until  1817, 
when,  on  September  2,  it  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Hobart.  The 
ancient  frame  still  remains  sound.  Upon  it  in  1857  a  new  church  was 
built  and  consecrated  by  Bishop  Williams  on  May  11,  1858,  as  Trinity 
Church,  Seymour. 

Mr.  Blakeslee  died  on  July  15,  I797,  in  the  thirty-first  year  of  his  age. 
His  death  was  felt  as  a  personal  loss  by  many  both  in  Derby  and  wher- 
ever he  was  known.  His  clerical  brethren  mourned  for  him  and  grieved 
that  his  earthly  ministry  had  so  soon  ended,  as  they  had  anticipated  for 
him  a  brilliant  future. 

This  brief  extract  from  a  manuscript  sermon  upon  fasting  will  show 
his  method  of  sermonizing.  His  text  is  from  St.  Luke  v.  34,  35-  "Can 
ye  make  the  children  of  the  bridechamber  fast  while  the  bridegroom 
is  with  them?  But  the  days  will  come  when  the  bridegroom  shall  be 
taken  away  from  them  and  then  shall  they  fast  in  those  days." 

He  first  states  the  circumstances  under  which  our  Lord  spoke  these  words 
and  then  shows  the  necessity  for  joy  while  the  Bridegroom  is  with  His  dis- 
ciples, and  the  reason  for  sadness  and  fasting  when  the  light  of  His  coun- 
tenance is  withdrawn  from  them.  He  considers  the  reasons  why  Christians 
should  fast  and  alludes  to  the  practice  of  the  Primitive  Church  and  the 
obligation  resting  upon  all  Christians  to  follow  its  example.  He  then 
says :  "Again  this  Duty  is  too  often  abused  by  considering  y«  bare  per- 
formance of  it  acceptable  to  God,  without  regard  to  those  other  Religious 


—148— 

exercises  w'^  are  inseparably  connected  with  it — for  Fasting  consider"^  in 
y^  Abstract  is  but  A  Colateral  Duty,  &  enjoined  for  no  other  Purpose 
y^  to  assist  us  in  y^  great  &  essential  Duties  of  Prayer,  Almsgiving  &  an 
holy  life,  &  is  intended  to  be  wholly  subservient  thereto.  If  ergo  we 
flatter  ourselves  with  y^  Notion,  y*^  having  modified  our  Appetites  for  a 
little  Time,  we  may  y"^  indulge  y™  at  large,  till  y^  return  of  the  next 
stated  Season  of  Fasting  &  Humiliation  we  grossely  Deceive  ourselves 
&  add  to  our  own  Condemnation,  by  turning  y*  w^  is  intended  for  an 
Assistant  to  Virtue  &  Godliness,  into  an  Instrument  of  Impiety  &  Wicked- 
ness ;  since  He  who  lives  A  good  life  without  fasting,  is  a  much  better 
Man  y'^  He  who  abstains  from  Meat  only,  without  regarding  those  other 
ends,  w^  y*  Abstinence  was  designed  to  promote. 

Notwithstanding,  ergo,  this  as  well  as  many  Other  Religious  Duties 
is  often  neglected  or  Abused,  yet,  let  us  not,  for  this  Reason  lay  aside 
y*  Use  of  it,  but  Deliberately  consider  those  good  Purposes  for  w^  it  was 
originally  Designed,  &  y^  great  advantages  y*  will  arise  to  us  from  a 
regular  &  conscientious  Discharge  of  it.  Fasting,  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged, is  a  very  fit  &  becoming  Act  of  Humiliation  to  God  for  our  past 
Offences  against  his  Divine  Majesty.  The  best  of  us  all  have  abundant 
reason  to  pray  with  y®  Devout  Publican  in  y®  Gospel,  L^  be  merciful,  &c."' 

The  ReverexXd  SOLOMON  BLAKESLEE,  M.A. 

Solomon,  a  son  of  Zophar  Blakeslee,  was  born  at  North  Haven, 
Connecticut,  on  November  9,  1762.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  the  town  and  when  nineteen  years  old  entered  Yale  College,  where 
he  maintained  a  creditable  rank  and  was  graduated  in  1785. 

He  probably  studied  theology  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mansfield  of  Derby, 
but  was,  like  other  candidates  of  the  period,  better  versed  in  the  practical 
duties  of  the  ministry  than  in  systematic  divinity.  The  lack  of  ordained 
clergymen  compelled  the  students  to  read  the  service  in  parishes  which 
otherwise  would  be  wholly  without  the  ministrations  of  the  Church.  His 
time  seems  to  have  been  spent  largely  in  Claremont,  New  Hampshire, 
where  a  parish  had  been  formed  as  early  as  1770  and  a  church  com- 
menced in  1773.  Among  the  earliest  services  in  Claremont  were  those 
of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Peters,  of  Hebron,  Connecticut,  who  made  a  mis- 
sionary tour  in  1770  which  included  Claremont.  The  parish  then  was 
occasionally  visited  by  the  itinerant  missionary  in  New  Hampshire,  the 
Rev.  Moses  Badger,  and  in  1773  the  Rev.  Ranna  Cositt  became  rector 
and  missionary.  An  outspoken  loyalist,  Mr.  Cossit  finally  became  a  mis- 
sionary in  Sydney,  Cape  Breton  Island.  There  is  evidence  that  Mr. 
Blakeslee  was  in  New  Hampshire  in  the  closing  months  of  1788  and  that 
he  officiated  until  the  time  of  his  ordination.  Mr.  Blakeslee  entered 
heartily  into  the  work  and  did  good  service  not  only  in  Claremont  but  also 
in  the  new  settlements  of  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont.  He  is  known  to 
have  made  several  journeys  to  Connecticut,  where  he  officiated  at  North 

1  Dr.  Burhans'  Collection  of  Manuscript  Sermons.  The  sermon  is  thus  endorsed  :  Amity, 
March  11,  1792  ;  Great  Hill,  March  18,  1792  ;  Derby,  April  i^',  1792. 


—149— 

Haven  and  other  places  after  his  cousin,  the  Rev.  Edward  Blakeslee, 
had  in  1791  gone  to  Derby.  A  recent  writer  upon  North  Haven  says 
that  he  was  "rather  in  advance  of  the  older  people,  and  locally  known 
as  the  man  who  whistled  on  the  sabbath  day."* 

For  three  years  he  was  in  New  Hampshire  during  the  greater  portion 
of  his  time.  The  last  services  by  him  in  Claremont  are  in  September, 
1792.  What  he  did  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  Church  and  the  searching 
out  of  the  scattered  and  uncared  for  people  in  the  wilderness  towns  and 
hamlets  merits  high  praise. 

A  parish  by  the  name  of  St.  Stephen's  Church  had  been  formed  at 
Haddam,  on  the  Connecticut  river,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Abraham  Jarvis  of  Middletown  in  April,  1791.  Dr.  Jarvis  in  addition  to 
his  other  onerous  duties  had  cheerfully  served  it  until  1792.  On  March 
1st,  1793,  Mr.  Blakeslee  accepted  the  charge  of  it.  He  was  a  devoted 
parish  priest  and  a  preacher  of  sound  common  sense.  He  possessed  a 
practical  knowledge  of  men  which  made  him  attractive  to  his  parish- 
ioners. Mr.  Blakeslee  was  ordained  priest  in  Christ  Church,  Middletown, 
on  Sunday,  June  9,  1793  by  Bishop  Seabury  at  the  same  time  with  Edward 
Blakeslee,  Russel  Catling  and  David  Butler. 

A  church  was  planned  in  February,  1792,  which  was  to  be  "fifty-four 
feet  long,  thirty-seven  feet  wide,  and  twenty-one  feet  posts,  with  a 
steeple."  This  church  was  not  finished  and  ready  for  consecration  until 
October,  1795.  The  consecration  was  on  St.  Luke's  Day,  October  18, 
1795.  It  served  the  parish  for  nearly  a  hundred  years  until  the  erection 
and  consecration  of  the  present  St.  Stephen's,  which  is  nearer  the 
"Landing,"  in  1890.  It  still  stands,  a  witness  to  the  zeal  of  the 
fathers,  and  a  conspicuous  and  cherished  object  to  all  vessels  passing 
up  or  down  the  river. 

Mr.  Blakeslee  in  1803  was  one  of  six  clergymen  who  united  in  a 
memorial  to  Bishop  Jarvis  concerning  the  right  of  the  Rev.  Ammi  Rogers 
to  a  seat  in  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese;  basing  their  plea  upon 
the  principle  that  "each  parish  has  a  right  to  choose  its  own  rector," 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Bishop.  For  one  of  his  parishes  the 
memorial  stated  Mr.  Rogers  had  obtained  approval. 2 

In  thus  joining  with  five  of  his  brethren  of  undoubted  loyalty  to  the 
Diocese  and  conspicuously  successful  as  parish  priests,  Mr.  Blakeslee 
did  not  intend  to  prejudge  the  case  of  Mr.  Rogers  or  oppose  the  deci- 
sion of  the  Bishop. 

The  rector  of  East  Haddam  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  church 
well  filled  and  new  families  of  intelligence  inquiring  into  the  principles 
of  the  American  Church,  many  of  whom  became  earnest  and  consistent 
churchmen. 

In  1815  the  Rev.  Charles  Seabury,  who  had  succeeded  his  father,  tlte 

1  P.  155.  North  Haven  Annals,  *  *  *  by  Sheldon  B.  Thorpe.  New  Haven  :  1892.  The 
Rev.  Wm.  Lusk's  sketch  of  St.  John's  Church. 

*  P.  31.  Dr.  Beardsley's  "  History  "  II.  The  other  clergymen  were  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mans- 
field, of  Derby;  the  Rev.  John  Tyler,  of  Norwich;  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Todd,  of  Hunting- 
ton; the  Rev.  Joseph  Warren,  of  Middletown  :  and  the  Rev.  Smith  Miles,  of  Chatham. 


— 150— 

Bishop,  as  rector  of  St.  James's  Church,  New  London,  resigned.  On 
March  2^,  1815,  Mr.  Blakeslee  was  chosen  as  his  successor.  He  accepted 
immediately  and  soon  after  removed  to  New  London.  During  his  three 
years  incumbency  there  was  much  activity  and  abundant  life  in  the  old 
parish.  In  1816  the  gallery  in  St.  James's  Church  was  lowered  and  in 
1817  a  small  organ  of  English  manufacture  and  of  excellent  tone,  was 
presented  to  the  parish  and  placed  in  the  gallery.  Previously  the  music 
had  been  entirely  vocal.  This  was  the  first  organ  in  New  London.  Mr. 
Blakeslee's  advocacy  of  the  deposed  priest,  Ammi  Rogers,  in  which  his 
neighbor,  the  Rev.  John  Tyler,  of  Norwich,  joined,  brought  him  into 
disfavor  with  some  of  his  brethren.  It  seemed  expedient  for  him  to 
resign  St.  James's  Church,  which  he  did  early  in  1818.  East  Haddam 
had  been  vacant  since  Mr.  Blakeslee's  departure  for  New  London  and 
had  relied  upon  him  for  various  clerical  offices. 

Yielding  to  the  wishes  of  his  former  parishioners,  he  accepted  in  April, 
1818,  the  call  made  by  them  and  continued  to  serve  the  parish  until 
October,  1821. 

Mr.  Blakeslee  then  went  to  St.  James's  Church,  Great  Barrington,  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  he  did  excellent  work  until  May,  1827.  In  1828  he 
returned  to  Connecticut  but  without  taking  any  parochial  charge,  and 
soon  after  removed  to  the  state  of  New  York.  He  made  his  home  at 
New  Lisbon,  Otsego  County,  in  that  picturesque  region  made  famous  by 
the  pen  of  James  Fenimore  Cooper.  It  was  that  part  of  the  state  long 
blessed  with  the  unceasing  labors  of  that  apostolic  missionary  affection- 
ately known  as    "Father  Nash." 

Mr.  Blakeslee  as  he  had  health  and  opportvmity  engaged  in  mission 
work  in  Otsego  and  Chenango  Counties  with  much  acceptance  and 
success. 

He  died  at  New  Lisbon  on  April  10,  1835,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of 
his  age. 

Bishop  Onderdonk  of  New  York  in  his  Convention  address  for  1835 
says  of  him :  "He  had  been  for  several  years  residing  on  an  estate  in 
Otsego  County,  and  rendered  important  gratuitous  service  to  the  mis- 
sionary cause  in  this  Diocese.  *  *  *  j  ^j^  personally  cognisant  of 
much  good  which  he  had  done  to  the  Church  in  our  Diocese."  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Robert  Hallam,  who  was  a  boy  in  St.  James's  in  New  London 
during  Mr.  Blakeslee's  rectorship,  gives  these  recollections  of  Mr. 
Blakeslee  in  his  valuable  "Annals  of  St.  James's  Church,  Neiv  London": 
"He  was  a  man  of  peculiarly  cheerful,  genial,  and  social  temperament, 
an  agreeable  companion  and  associate ;  but  was  thought  to  be  by  many, 
perhaps  not  without  reason,  somewhat  deficient  in  the  gravity  and 
seriousness  which  became  his  calling."^ 

*  P.  88.  Annals  of  St.  Jatnes^s  Church.,  New  London.,  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ; 
by  Robert  A.  Hallam,  D.D.,  Rector.  The  Church  Press:  M.  H.  Mallory  &  Co.,  Hartford, 
Conn.,  1873.     lamo,  pp.  v,  120. 


Note    II 


The  edifice  in  which  the  opening  service  of  the  Convocation  was  held 
and  the  Rev.  Truman  Marsh  was  ordained  priest,  was  the  second  built 
for  the  First  Ecclesiastical  Society  of  Litchfield.  Its  first  house  was 
commenced  in  April,  1723,  and  finished  in  1726.  It  was  a  neat  but  plain 
building  without  a  steeple,  forty-five  feet  long  and  thirty-five  feet  wide. 
The  second  house  was  completed  in  1762,  and  was  a  much  more  stately 
structure  with  a  steeple.  Its  dimensions  were  sixty  feet  by  forty-five  feet. 
It  stood  until  1829. 

Its  location  was  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  Green.  The  Court  House 
stood  about  opposite  the  centre  of  Town  street  with  the  "meeting  house" 
on  the  east  and  the  school  house  on  the  west. 

The  Rev.  Judah  Champion,  a  native  of  East  Haddam,  Connecticut, 
who  had  been  settled  on  July  4,  1753,  was  then  the  pastor.  Mr.  Cham- 
pion was  the  firm  and  helpful  friend  of  the  Continental  soldiers,  many 
of  whom  passed  through  Litchfield  on  their  way  to  the  American  camps 
on  the  Hudson  and  in  the  Jersies.  He  often  gave  them  substantial  meals 
and  provided  clothing  and  other  necessities. 

The  story  was  long  told  in  Litchfield  of  a  Sabbath  afternoon  of  weaving 
and  knitting  by  the  women  of  his  congregation  when  the  capture  of  St. 
John's  New  Brunswick,  and  the  destitute  condition  of  the  American 
troops  had  been  announced  from  the  pulpit  in  the  morning. 

A  prayer  of  Mr.  Champion's  in  which  he  implored  the  destruction  of 
the  enemies  of  America  and  the  safety  of  its  defenders  has  often  been 
quoted.  Mr.  Champion  served  for  some  time  as  a  chaplain  in  the  Con- 
tinental Army.  He  retired  from  active  service  in  the  ministry  in  October, 
1798,  and  died  in  1810,  in  his  eighty-first  year.  Throughout  his  long  life 
he  was  socially  and  religiously  a  power  in  the  community. 

The  first  St.  Michael's  Church  was  built  in  1747,  on  a  hill  about  a 
mile  west  of  the  centre  of  the  village.  The  second  church  was  built  upon 
one  of  the  main  streets  in  1812.  It  was  consecrated  in  1824,  by  Bishop 
Brownell. 

The  third  church  was  built  upon  the  same  site  in  1851  and  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Brownell  on  December  16,  1851.^ 

'  The  Rev.  Dr.  Seymour,  the  present  Rector  of  St.  Michael's,  has  furnished  some  inter 
esting  particulars  for  this  note. 


Note  III 


David,  a  son  of  Micah  and  Grace  (Sturgis)  Perry,  was  born  in  1747. 

His  ancestors  were  well  known  in  Fairfield  County  and  traced  their 
descent  from  Richard  Perry,  an  eminent  lawyer,  who  had  emigrated  from 
England  in  1637,  settled  in  New  Haven  in  1642  and  had  acquired  large 
tracts  of  land  in  Fairfield  County. 

David  Perry  studied  medicine,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  settled  in 
Ridgefield.  He  soon  had  an  extensive  practice  in  that  pleasant  town  and 
the  surrounding  region.  He  is  said  to  have  been  both  bold  and  successful 
in  the  trial  of  new  remedies.  Dr.  Perry  was  a  stanch  supporter  of  St. 
Stephen's  Church. 

This  parish  owes  its  existence  to  the  missionary  zeal  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Samuel  Johnson,  who  visited  the  town  in  1725.  It  was  faithfully  served 
by  the  Rev.  Henry  Caner,  the  Rev.  John  Beach,  the  Rev.  James  Wet- 
more,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Lawson,  the  Rev.  Richard  Clark,  and  the  Rev. 
Epenetus  Townsend  during  the  Colonial  period.  Mr.  Townsend  left 
Ridgefield  early  in  July,  1776.  The  services  were  then  suspended.  The 
first  church  had  been  built  in  1740  "directly  in  front  of  the  Sturtevant 
lot."  It  became  a  storehouse  for  supplies  for  the  American  Army  and 
was  burned  by  the  British  in  April,  1777,  on  their  return  from  the  raid 
on  Danbury.  No  regular  services  of  the  church  seem  to  have  been  held 
until  after  the  Revolution,  when  Dr.  Perry  acted  as  lay  reader.  A 
meeting  to  consider  the  building  of  a  new  church  was  held  on  June  19, 
1784.  Dr.  Perry  seems  to  have  been  very  active  in  arousing  the  latent 
energy  of  the  parish  and  his  name  heads  the  call  for  this  meeting.  It  was 
then  determined  to  build  a  new  church  whose  dimensions  were  to  be 
"forty  by  thirty  feet  with  eighteen  foot  posts"  at  "the  northeast  corner  of 
the  Sturtevant  lot  so  called  adjoining  the  town  street  in  the  first  society  of 
Ridgefield  on  a  piece  of  ground  given  by  Benjamin  Smith  for  that  pur- 
pose." While  the  frame  of  the  church  was  finished  and  the  building 
occupied  in  1785,  it  was  not  fully  completed  and  furnished  until  1791. 

After  the  brief  incumbency  of  four  months  in  1788  by  the  Rev.  David 
Belden,  deacon,  Dr.  Perry  resumed  his  duties  as  lay  reader,  to  the  great 
satisfaction  of  the  congregation.  At  a  parish  meeting  held  at  the  Town 
House  on  the  first  Monday  in  August,  1789,  it  was  "voted  that  Doct. 
David  Perry  receive  Holy  Orders  for  this  Society."  The  "Records"  give 
the  fact  of  his  ordination  as  Deacon  on  June  6,  1790.  In  the  "Register" 
the  Bishop  records  the  ordination  as  "special."  The  candidate  had  been 
recommended  by  the  clerg>-  and  was  "licensed  to  preach."  ^ 

The  double  duty  of  priest  and  physician  seems  at  first  to  have  been 
performed  with  much  vigor.    Three  parishes  were  under  his  care,  Ridge- 

>  P.  8,  Registry  of  Ordinations^  by  Bishops  Seabury  and  Jarvis. 


—153— 

field,  Redding,  and  Danbury.  He  fully  earned  the  higher  office  of  priest- 
hood to  which  he  was  ordained  in  St.  John's  Church,  Stratfield  (now 
Bridgeport),  on  October  i6,  1791. '  His  presenter  was  the  Rev.  Philo 
Shelton. 

The  growth  of  the  congregations  made  necessary  more  supervision 
than  such  a  busy  man  as  Dr.  Perry  could  give.  Discontent  arose  in 
some  portions  of  the  parish.  Rumors  of  it  at  last  reached  the  ears 
of  the  Bishop  and  his  clerical  brethren.  They  had  been  grieved  that 
he  did  not  attend  the  meetings  of  either  the  Convention  or  Convocation. 
Severe  comments  were  made  upon  his  conduct  and  urgent  requfests 
sent  to  him  to  show  respect  and  regard  for  his  brethren  by  attendance. 

The  Convocation  finally  took  action  in  1794,  as  the  "Records"  show.  To 
the  Bishop's  letter  of  admonition  a  reply  was  received  from  Dr.  Perry,  in 
which  he  declared  his  intention  of  resigning  immediately  his  pastoral 
charge  and  relinquishing  the  exercise  of  his  ministry.  This  letter,  as  the 
text  of  the  Records  informs  us,  was  laid  before  the  Convocation  on  June 
3,  1795- 

There  seems  to  have  been  no  more  formal  act  of  deposition  than  the 
resolution  entered  upon  the  "Records."  ^ 

Dr.  Perry  continued  in  lay  communion,  devoting  all  his  time  to  the 
practice  of  medicine,  until  his  death  on  May  8,  1822. 

His  son  and  grandson  became  well  known  physicians  in  Ridgefield, 
where  his  descendants  were  for  many  years  faithful  members  of  the 
parish  which  he  had  served. 

1  P.  8,  Registry  of  Ordinations.  *  See  pp.  44,  45,  46,  47,  ante. 


Note  IV 


The  Reverend  DANIEL  FOGG. 

Daniel  Fogg,  the  son  of  a  prosperous  farmer,  was  born  at  Rye,  New 
Hampshire,  on  August  i8,  1743. 

The  death  of  his  father  and  mother  while  he  was  a  child  placed  him  at 
an  early  age  under  the  care  of  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Fogg,  who 
was  the  Congregational  minister  of  Kensington,  a  neighboring  town. 

By  him  the  boy  was  carefully  trained,  and  in  1760  entered  Harvard 
College.  He  maintained  a  high  rank  in  his  class  and  also  excelled  in  all 
athletic  sports,  being,  it  is  said,  the  best  football  player  of  his  time.  Mr. 
Fogg  was  graduated  with  high  honors  in  1764. 

It  was  while  in  college  that  he  studied  the  doctrines  and  polity  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  probably  learned  much  of  her  excellencies  from 
the  energetic  young  missionary  of  Christ  Church,  Cambridge,  the  Rev. 
East  Apthorp,  who  was  both  a  scholar  and  a  busy  parish  priest.  Becoming 
convinced  of  the  primitive  truth  and  apostolic  order  of  the  Church,  he 
"declared"  for  it  and  studied  theology  under  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Caner  of 
King's  Chapel,  Boston.  This  course  of  the  nephew  is  represented  as  not 
displeasing  to  his  uncle,  who  was  "one  of  the  small  minority  of  his 
denomination  holding  Armenian  tenets,  thus  naturally  without  any 
extreme  antipathy  to  that  very  uncalvanistic  body,  the  Communion  of  the 
Church  of  England  in  America."  ^  To  support  himself  he  opened  a 
school  of  high  grade  in  Newburyport,  which  was  well  patronized. 

In  the  spring  of  1770  he  "went  home"  to  England  to  receive  Holy 
Orders.  He  was  duly  confirmed,  passed  successfully  the  Bishop  of 
London's  examination,  and  was  made  deacon  on  August  19,  1770,  and 
was  ordained  priest  on  August  24,  1770,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Richard  Terrick, 
Bishop  of  London. 

Upon  his  return  he  became  temporarily  assistant  to  Dr.  Caner. 

After  a  brief  service  in  Boston,  Mr.  Fogg  went  to  North  Carolina, 
where  he  did  faithful  work  as  a  missionary  and  a  teacher.  Ill  health 
obliged  him  to  seek  again  a  Northern  climate,  and  in  May,  1772,  he 
accepted  the  incumbency  of  Trinity  Church,  Brooklyn,  in  the  town  of 
Pomfret,  Connecticut. 

The  story  of  the  building  of  this  church  through  the  determination  of 
Colonel  Godfrey  Malbone,  who  owned  a  large  estate  in  Pomfret,  is  one  of 
the  romantic  incidents  of  our  Connecticut  Church  history. 

Mr.  Fogg  was  an  industrious  and  painstaking  pastor. 

During  the  Revolution  he  remained  in  Brooklyn,  which  was  also  the 
home  of  the  patriot  General  Putnam,  sharing  with  Colonel  Malbone  the 

1  The  Rev.  Thomas  Brinley  Fogg,  in  The  Herald^  New  London,  Archdeaconry  Quar- 
terly, March,  1891.    Vol.  I,  No.  3. 


—155— 

odium  of  being  a  Tory.  Neither  was  molested.  While  the  church  had 
to  be  closed,  there  was  no  disturbance  of  the  services  held  at  the  house 
of  Colonel  Malbone. 

Mr.  Fogg  was  one  of  the  ten  clergymen  who,  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Annunciation,  1783,  met  at  Woodbury  to  elect  a  Bishop  for  Connecticut. 
The  importance  of  his  letters  on  the  subject  has  been  already  noted. 

In  the  quiet  discharge  of  his  duty  in  a  parish  which  was  neither 
wealthy  nor  able  to  expand  largely,  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

He  is  described  as  the  kind  friend  and  adviser  of  his  parishioners,  fond 
of  society  and  an  agreeable  companion.  His  sermons,  it  is  said,  were 
highly  esteemed  by  persons  of  good  judgment. 

Mr.  Fogg  departed  this  life  on  June  29,  1815,  in  the  seventy-second  year 
of  his  age.  The  burial  was  in  Trinity  Churchyard  on  July  2.  The  Rev. 
Philander  Chase  came  from  Hartford  to  perform  this  last  office  for  his 
brother  in  the  ministry. 

The  Reverend  JOHN  TYLER. 

John,  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Doolittle)  Tyler,  was  born  in  Walling- 
ford,  Connecticut,  on  August  15,  1742.  He  was  descended  from  Roger 
Tyler,  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  Wallingford. 

Mr.  Tyler  was  graduated  from  Yale  College  in  1765  with  distinction 
and  pronounced  the  valedictory  oration.  He  took  a  post  graduate  course 
at  King's  College,  New  York  City  (now  Columbia  University),  under 
that  versatile,  accomplished  man.  President  Miles  Cooper.  This  was 
then  very  unusual.  He  received  both  the  Bachelor's  and  Master's 
degrees  from  that  institution.  Like  many  other  young  men  in  Con- 
necticut, he  abandoned  the  "Standing  Order"  in  which  he  had  been 
brought  up,  declared  for  the  Church,  and  studied  theology  under  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  then  enjoying  a  well  earned  rest  at  Stratford.  He 
assisted  Dr.  Johnson  on  Sundays,  and  by  some  of  the  people  of  Christ 
Church  was  thought  worthy  to  be  the  successor  of  that  Nestor  of  the 
Colonial  Church.  He  had  also  read  the  services  in  Dr.  Johnson's  native 
town,  Guilford,  vacant  by  the  removal  of  the  Rev.  Bela  Hubbard  to  New 
Haven. 

Mr.  Tyler  went  to  England  on  May  10,  1768,  sailing  from  New  York 
in  the  ship  Edward.  He  bore  testimonials  from  Dr.  Johnson  and  the 
Connecticut  clergy  to  the  Bishop  of  London  and  the  Venerable  Society. 
He  also  carried  a  petition  from  the  Wardens  and  Vestry  of  Christ 
Church,  Guilford,  for  the  erection  of  a  new  mission,  of  which  Guilford 
should  be  the  central  station  and  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Tyler  as  the 
missionary. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  England  he  sought  first  the  powerful  personal  aid 
of  the  Hon.  William  Samuel  Johnson,  a  son  of  Dr.  Johnson,  then  the 
agent  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut  in  London.  By  him  he  was  intro- 
duced to  many  persons  of  influence  and  the  object  of  his  quest  facilitated. 
He  was  examined  on  June  20,  by  Dr.  Carr,  chaplain  to  the  Bishop  of 
London.     On  Friday,  June  24,  the  feast  of  St.  John  Baptist,  "at  nine 


-156- 

o'clock  in  the  morning,"  Mr.  Tyler  was  made  deacon  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr. 
Terrick,  Bishop  of  London.  On  Wednesday,  June  29,  St.  Peter's  Day, 
he  was  ordained  priest  in  Fulham  Chapel  by  the  same  prelate. 

It  was  a  very  great  disappointment  that  Dr.  Burton,  the  Secretary,  and 
other  authorities  of  the  Venerable  Propagation  Society  would  not  erect 
Guilford  into  a  mission.  Mr.  Tyler  was  chosen  by  the  Society  for  the 
mission  at  Norwich,  made  vacant  by  the  removal  of  the  Rev.  John 
Beardsley  to  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  with  a  salary  of  thirty  pounds  a 
year. 

Mr.  Tyler  sailed  for  New  York  on  August  2  in  the  same  vessel  in 
which  he  went  to  England.  After  a  stormy  passage  and  much  detention 
by  contrary  winds,  the  Edward  reached  New  York  on  September  26, 
1768. 

He  made  several  visits  to  friends  in  New  York  and  Stratford,  spent 
some  days  with  his  family  at  the  home  in  Wallingford,  and  commenced 
his  duties  at  Norwich  on  November  i. 

A  journal  kept  by  him  during  the  six  months  he  spent  in  obtaining 
Holy  Orders,  which  give  many  interesting  glimpses  of  his  life  on  ship- 
board and  sojourn  in  London,  was  privately  printed  in  1894  by  Mr. 
Tyler's  grandson,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alfred  L.  Brewer,  the  founder  of  St. 
Matthew's  Hall,  San  Mateo,  California. 

Mr.  Tyler  was  an  earnest  and  faithful  pastor.  When  Trinity  Church, 
Pomfret,  was  ready  for  use,  Colonel  Malbone  invited  Mr.  Tyler  to  preach 
the  opening  sermon.  It  is  said  that  the  service  of  opening  "was  made  as 
nearly  one  of  consecration  as  was  possible." 

During  the  Revolution  the  Rector  of  Norwich  remained  in  his  parish. 
The  church  was  closed  from  1776  to  1779,  but  services  were  held  in  the 
Rector's  house.  He  suffered  little  indignity  from  the  patriots,  although 
it  is  traditional  that  there  were  attempts  to  poison  his  well. 

In  1779  Mr.  Tyler,  after  consultation  with  his  parishioners,  agreed  to 
open  the  church  and  use  the  prayer  for  Congress,  provided  the  congrega- 
tion desired  it.  The  church  was  then  opened,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of 
the  people.  There  were  no  startling  events  in  the  parish  of  Christ 
Church.  Harmony  and  progress  were  apparent.  As  the  years  went  on. 
Mr.  Tyler  became  more  endeared  to  the  people.  He  practiced  medicine 
freely  among  the  poor,  and  this  often  won  them  to  a  true  religious  life. 

Upon  Sunday,  February  28,  1796,  Mr.  Tyler  had  the  distinction  of 
officiating  at  the  funeral  of  the  first  Bishop  of  the  American  Church,  Dr. 
Samuel  Seabury,  at  New  London.  Mr.  Tyler  died  on  January  20,  1823, 
in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age. 

Two  sermons  of  Mr.  Tyler's  were  printed,  that  at  the  "Opening  of 
Trinity  Church,  Pomfret,  April  5,  1771,"  and  one  upon  "The  Blessing  of 
Peace,"  preached  at  Christ  Church,  Norwich,  on  the  "Continental 
Thanksgiving,"  February  19,  1795.  An  extract  from  the  sermon  on 
Peace  will  show  his  style : 

"I  might,  indeed,  upon  this  Occasion  congratulate  with  Views  of  our 
National  Prosperity — of  the  extensiveness  of  our  Territory — of  the 
various  and  happy  Climates  in  it — of  our  rapidly  growing  Numbers — of 


—157— 

the  great  Increase  of  New  Settlements — of  the  Security  we  enjoy  by 
being  so  distant  from  powerful  and  corrupted  Nations — of  our  various 
great  and  increasing  Resources  for  Wealth  or  War.  I  might  remind  you 
that  the  natural  means  of  our  Subsistence  are  so  great,  that  in  a  measure 
we  are  become  the  Granary  of  other  Nations — that  Knowledge  and  all 
useful  arts  are  making  great  Progress  among  us — and  I  might  boast  of 
the  Liberality  and  Prosperity  of  our  free  and  happy  Constitution  of  Gov- 
ernment. But  what  are  all  these  things  without  the  divine  Blessing  and 
Protection?  And  what  purpose  would  all  this  Adulation  serve,  but, 
instead  of  promoting  real  Gratitude  to  God,  rather  perhaps  to  excite  and 
encourage  pride ;  which  is  the  great  Bane  of  Man :  and  it  is  one  great 
Purpose  of  God,  in  national  as  well  as  private  Judgments  to  hide  Pride 
from  Man.  I  might  indeed  have  said  little  else,  except  what  would  con- 
tribute something  to  promote  the  Arrogance  of  National  Prosperity. 
But  perhaps  I  should  have  fallen  under  the  condemnation  of  the  false 
Prophets  in  Judah ;  of  whom  Jehovah  of  Hosts  said, — They  have  healed 
the  hurt  of  the  daughter  of  my  People  slightly,  saying  Peace,  peace,  zvhen 
there  is  no  Peace.  For  says  the  Prophet  There  is  no  Peace,  saith  my 
God,  to  the  wicked.  This  last  is  what  innumerable  Facts  in  every  Age 
have  proclaimed.  But  more  especially  this  holds  true  in  free  popular 
Governments,  like  ours.  For  there  must  be  public  Virtue,  or  they  can  not 
flourish  with  Peace  and  Prosperity.  There  must  also  be  private  Virtue 
or  there  will  be  no  such  thing  as  public  Virtue.  There  must  be  Religion, 
or  there  will  be  neither  public  nor  private  Virtue.  There  must  be  true 
Religion,  otherwise  there  will  be  generally  abundance  of  false  Religion. 
And  there  must  be  attendance  on  the  Worship  of  God,  otherwise  there 
will  soon  be  no  Religion  at  all." ' 

The  Reverend  AMBROSE  TODD,  M.A. 

Ambrose  Todd  was  born  in  that  portion  of  the  town  of  Branford, 
Connecticut,  known  as  Northford,  on  December  7,  1764. 

He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  studied  assiduously  to  pre- 
pare himself  for  college  and  was  graduated  with  honor  from  Yale  College 
in  1786.  He  spent  a  year  pursuing  a  course  of  theology  and  was  made 
deacon  by  Bishop  Seabury  in  St.  John's  Church,  Stamford,  on  June  i, 
1787,  at  the  same  time  as  Mr.  Chauncy  Prindle  and  Mr.  Bethuel  Chit- 
tenden.' 

He  at  once  took  charge  of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Simsbury  (now  St. 
Andrew's,  Bloomfield),  which  was  vacant  by  the  final  removal  in  1787  of 
the  Rev.  Roger  Viets,  one  of  the  most  accomplished  clergymen  in  the 
State  and  Diocese,  to  Digby,  Nova  Scotia. 

Mr.  Todd  was  ordained  priest  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  Norwalk,  by 
Bishop  Seabury,  on  Trinity  Sunday,  June  7,  1789,  at  the  same  time  as  the 
Rev.  Ambrose  Hall  and  the  Rev.  Abram  Lynsen  Clark.' 

1  Pp.  17,  18,  The  Blessing  of  Peace,  *  *  *  by  John  Tj^ler,  A.M.,  8vo,  pp.  20.  Printed 
by  John  Trumbull,  Norwich,  MDCCXCV. 

»  P.  6,  Registry  0/ Ordinations.  ^  P.  8.  Registry  0/  Ordinations. 


-158- 

Mr.  Todd's  work  in  Simsbury,  Granby  and  other  places  in  the  vicinity 
was  both  conscientious  and  successful.  He  was  a  man  of  profound 
earnestness  and  strict  in  his  attention  to  all  the  duties  of  his  ministry. 
His  direct  and  plain  speaking  caused  Mr.  Alexander  Viets  Griswold,  a 
nephew  of  the  Rev.  Roger  Viets,  to  study  for  the  ministry.  The  whole 
Church  knows  the  result ;  a  faithful  priesthood,  followed  by  an  energetic 
episcopate  in  the  association  of  dioceses,  known  as  the  Eastern  Diocese, 
which  revived  the  Church  in  the  greater  part  of  New  England. 

After  eleven  years  of  hard  work,  to  the  great  sorrow  of  his  par- 
ishioners, Mr.  Todd  accepted  the  rectorship  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Hunt- 
ington, Connecticut,  where  he  remained  until  the  close  of  his  earthly  life, 
using  all  faithful  diligence  in  building  up  the  parish. 

Mr.  Todd  died  of  consumption,  after  an  illness  of  three  months,  on 
July  25,  1809,  in  the  forty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

A  writer  in  The  Churchman's  Magazine  describes  Mr.  Todd  as 
"prudent  in  his  secular  concerns,  and  an  active  and  faithful  servant  in 
the  vineyard.  He  was  much  beloved  by  his  parishioners,  heard  with 
attention  and  treated  with  respect,  and  died  much  lamented.  His  life 
and  conversation  were  such  as  to  leave  a  lasting  impression."^ 

Two  of  his  sons  entered  the  ministry.  The  Rev.  Charles  Jarvis  Todd 
was  for  many  years  a  missionary  in  Illinois,  where  he  died  in  1859.  The 
Rev.  Ambrose  Seymour  Todd  spent  two  years  as  rector  of  Christ  Church, 
Redding,  and  St.  James'  Church,  Danbury,  and  then  became  the  honored 
and  beloved  rector  of  St.  John's  Church,  Stamford,  for  nearly  forty 
years.     He  died  in  1861. 

The  Reverend  GEORGE  OGILVIE,  M.A. 

George,  a  son  of  the  Rev.  John  and  Catharine  (Symes)  Ogilvie,  was 
born  at  Albany,  New  York,  in  1758.  His  father,  probably  the  most 
finished  pulpit  orator  in  the  Colonial  Church,  was  then  the  incumbent  of 
St.  Peter's  Church,  Albany,  and  missionary  to  the  Mohawk  Indians.  Dr. 
Ogilvie  in  1764  became  an  assistant  minister  of  Trinity  Church,  New 
York  City.  His  son  George  was  very  carefully  educated  at  home  and  in 
the  best  schools  of  the  city.  He  was  graduated  from  King'.s  College 
(now   Columbia  University),  of  which   his  father  was   a  governor,   in 

1774- 

Great  responsibility  came  to  him  at  this  early  age,  for  his  father  died 
suddenly  of  apoplexy  on  November  26,  1774. 

During  the  Revolution,  like  many  others  in  the  City  of  New  York,  it 
is  said  that  he  joined  the  Royal  American  Regiment  of  Colonel  Edmund 
Fanning  and  became  a  commissioned  officer.  It  is  traditional  that  at  the 
close  of  the  war  he  went  to  England,  but  his  visit  could  not  have  been  a 
long  one,  as  he  was  living  in  Newark,  New  Jersey,  in  1785,  and  studying 
theology  under  the  Rev.  Dr.  Uzal  Ogden,  Rector  of  Trinity  Church, 
Newark.  At  the  second  Convention  of  the  Diocese  of  New  Jersey,  which 
was  held  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  Perth  Amboy,  on  May  16,  1785,  Mr. 
Ogilvie  was  a  lay  delegate. 

»  P.  374,  The  Churchman's  Magazine,  September  and  October,  1809,  Vol.  6,  No.  5. 


—159— 

At  the  first  ordination  held  by  Bishop  Provoost  on  July  15,  1787,  in  St. 
George's  Chapel,  New  York  City,  Mr.  Ogilvie  was  made  deacon  at  the 
same  time  with  Mr.  Joseph  Grove  John  Bend  and  Mr.  Richard  Channing 
Moore.  Mr.  Ogilvie  became  minister  of  Christ  Church,  New  Brunswick, 
New  Jersey,  soon  after  his  ordination.  He  was  a  good  reader  of  the 
service  and  a  preacher  of  marked  originality.  He  had  a  pleasant  manner, 
and  in  person  is  said  to  have  resembled  his  father,  who  was  a  large, 
portly  man  with  a  highly  intellectual  countenance. 

St.  Paul's  Church,  Norwalk,  Connecticut,  to  its  very  sincere  regret, 
had  accepted  the  resignation  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Bowden,  whose  health 
required  a  total  cessation  from  work,  in  the  summer  of  1789.  At  the 
termination  of  a  six  months'  engagement  with  the  Rev.  David  Foote  in 
May,  1790,  Mr.  Ogilvie  was  invited  to  the  rectorship.  Upon  his  arrival 
in  that  pleasant  shore  town  he  found  some  of  the  congregation  who  still 
recalled  with  pleasure  the  brief  term  forty  years  before  when  Dr.  John 
Ogilvie  had  officiated.  Mr.  Ogilvie  was  energetic  and  industrious.  The 
congregation  generously  seconded  his  plans  for  the  improvement  and 
completion  of  the  church  edifice,  which  had  taken  the  place  of  the  one 
burned  by  the  British  during  the  Revolution,  and  which  had  been  conse- 
crated by  Bishop  Seabury  in  1786,  on  the  first  occasion  when  the  office 
of  consecration  was  used  in  the  United  States. 

The  six  years  spent  by  him  in  this  parish  were  pleasant  and  profitable 
to  both  priest  and  people. 

Mr.  Ogilvie  resigned  the  rectorship  of  St.  Paul's  in  October,  1796.  It 
was  accepted  by  the  Vestry  with  expressions  of  unqualified  respect  and 
appreciation. 

Upon  October  26,  1796,  a  call  was  extended  by  the  Vestry  of  Christ 
Church,  Rye,  Westchester  County,  New  York.  This  was  one  of  the 
most  ancient  parishes  in  that  diocese  and  had  been  served  by  many  strong 
and  eminent  men,  among  them  the  Rev.  George  Muirson,  the  first  clergy- 
man of  the  Church  who  held  regularly  services  in  the  Colony  of  Con- 
necticut. 

Mr.  Ogilvie  assumed  his  new  duties  in  the  fall  of  1796  and  was  rapidly 
gaining  the  affection  of  his  parishioners  when,  after  a  brief  illness,  he 
died  on  April  3,  1797,  in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age  and  the  tenth  of  his 
ministry.  He  was  buried  in  the  plot  reserved  in  the  old  cemetery  of  the 
parish  for  its  rectors  and  sincerely  mourned  by  all  his  friends. 


Note  V 


The  adjourned  session  of  the  General  Convention  of  1789  met  in  Christ 
Church,  Philadelphia,  on  Tuesday,  September  29,  1789,  the  feast  of  St. 
Michael  and  All  Angels.  As  there  was  no  quorum  present,  the  Conven- 
tion adjourned  until  Wednesday,  September  30,  when  the  representatives 
of  the  Church  in  New  England,  Bishop  Seabury,  Dr.  Parker,  Mr. 
Hubbard  and  Mr.  Jarvis,  were  cordially  welcomed. 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  White  of  Pennsylvania  presided,  ex  officio. 

The  testimonials  of  the  New  England  deputation  were  read  and 
"deemed  satisfactory." 

Bishop  Seabury  then  "produced  his  letters  of  consecration  to  the  holy 
office  of  a  Bishop  in  this  Church,"  which  after  being  read  were  ordered 
to  be  recorded. 

A  resolution  to  go  into  committee  of  the  whole  on  the  subject  of  the 
proposed  union  with  the  Churches  in  the  States  of  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  as  now  represented  in  the  Convention, 
was  then  unanimously  adopted. 

On  Thursday,  October  i,  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  sat  with  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Robert  Smith  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  the  chair. 

The  discussion  was  long  but  without  bitterness.  Bishop  White  had 
some  apprehension  that  political  considerations  might  enter  into  the 
debate,  as  several  of  the  lay  deputies  were  ardent  patriots  and  held  high 
positions  in  the  State  and  nation.  There  was  still  a  feeling  of  bitterness 
toward  all  who  had  sympathized  with  England.  Bishop  Seabury  had  not 
only  given  his  sympathy,  but  had  ably  argued  in  pamphlets  the  cause  of  a 
United  British  Empire.  He  had  also  served  as  chaplain  to  the  Royal 
American  Regiment  of  Colonel  Edmund  Fanning  and  received  from  the 
British  Government  a  half-pay  pension.  The  scruples  of  some  who 
approached  Bishop  White  with  this  objection  to  his  eligibility  to  sit  in  the 
Convention  were  met  by  that  wise  and  amiable  prelate  with  the  state- 
ment that  Bishop  Seabury  received  his  pension  for  past  and  not  present 
or  future  services;  that  it  was  no  bar  to  his  being  a  citizen  of  Con- 
necticut, with  all  its  rights  and  privileges,  and  that  he  or  any  other  citizen 
of  that  State  similarly  circumstanced  could  be  returned  as  a  member  of 
Congress.  This  satisfied  them  and  no  objection  on  that  score  was 
raised  in  the  Convention.^ 

The  final  action  of  the  Committee  was  to  report  a  resolution  that,  for 
the  better  promotion  of  an  union  with  the  deputies  from  the  Eastern 

1  Pp.  167,  168,  Memoirs  of  the  Clmrck.  William  White,  D.D.  Edition  of  1880.  New 
York  :  E.  P.  Button  &  Co. 


— i6i— 

Churches,"  the  General  Constitution  previously  established  was  open  to 
amendment. 

Upon  its  report  to  the  Convention  the  resolution,  after  a  division  had 
been  called  for,  passed  in  the  affirmative.  The  Rev.  Dr.  William  Smith, 
Provost  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  Smith, 
Rector  of  St.  Philip's  Church,  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Benjamin  Moore,  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  the  Hon.  Richard 
Harison,  of  New  York  City,  and  the  Hon.  Tench  Coxe  of  Philadelphia, 
were  appointed  a  Committee  of  Conference  with  the  Eastern  representa- 
tives. 

The  chief  objection  of  Bishop  Seabury  and  the  New  England  clergy 
was  to  the  impairment  of  the  rights  of  the  Episcopal  office.  They  con- 
tended that  the  Bishops  should  deliberate  by  themselves,  have  the  right 
to  originate  business,  and  the  power  to  veto  any  proposition  from  the 
lower  house,  and  that  no  act  should  be  valid  without  the  concurrence  of 
the  two  houses.  The  proposed  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  too  very 
objectionable. 

It  was  hoped  that  the  Convention  would  remedy  its  defects  and  return 
to  the  sounder  presentation  of  doctrine  in  the  English  Book. 

A  spirit  of  harmony  and  conciliation  was  apparent  at  the  formal  con- 
ference held  on  Thursday  evening,  October  i.  The  full  Episcopal 
negative  was  granted  and  a  House  of  Bishops  was  to  be  organized  when 
there  were  three  Bishops  or  more. 

Dr.  William  Smith  drew  up  the  report  in  which  these  changes  in 
Article  HI  of  the  Constitution  were  proposed.  The  Episcopal  negative 
was  said  to  be  "desirable  in  itself,"  and  would  have  "a  tendency  to  give 
greater  stability  to  the  Constitution  without  diminishing  any  security  that 
is  now  possessed  by  the  clergy  or  laity." 

In  the  course  of  the  debate  there  was  manifest  reluctance  to  yield  all 
power  to  the  upper  house,  although  every  one  admitted  the  necessity  of  a 
union  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States.  Finally  the  article  was 
amended  so  as  to  require  that  the  Episcopal  veto  should  be  subject  to 
revision  by  the  lower  house,  and  any  act  could  be  passed  over  the  veto  by 
four-fifths  of  the  house  of  clerical  and  lay  deputies.  The  Bishops  were 
also  to  send  in  writing  the  reasons  for  their  disapproval. 

To  this  modification,  which  was  largely  due  to  the  attitude  and  argu- 
ment of  Mr.  Robert  Andrews  of  Virginia,  who  said  that  the  full  negative 
would  not  be  allowed  or  upheld  in  his  State,  "the  Eastern  gentle- 
men acquiesced,  but  reluctantly,"^ 

The  granting  of  the  full  negative  was  left  to  the  consideration  of  the 
several  dioceses  for  action  at  the  next  General  Convention. 

The  amended  Constitution  was  submitted  to  Bishop  Seabury  and  the 
Eastern  deputies,  who  gave  their  assent  in  this  brief  document : 

'  P.  170.  Memoirs  0/ the  Church.     Bishop  White. 


—  1 62 — 

We  do  hereby  agree  to  the  Constitution  of  the  Church  as  Modified  this 
Day  in  the  Convention — 2d  October  1789 

Samuel  Seabury,  D.D.  Bp. 
Epl  Ch'ch  Connect. 
Connecticut — 
Abraham  Jarvis  A.  M. 
Rector  of  Christ's  Church, 

Middletown 
Bela  Hubbard,  A.M. 

Rector  of  Trinity  Church, 
New  Haven. 
Samuel  Parker,  D.D. 
Reef  Trin^y  Church  Boston 
Massachusetts  &  Clerical  Deputy 
for  Massachusetts  &  New  Hampsh^'e. 

The  original  is  written  on  a  half  sheet  of  letter  paper,  five  and  three- 
quarters  by  seven  inches  in  size.  It  is  among  the  most  precious  docu- 
ment preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  General  Convention  and  is 
the  witness  to  the  final  union  of  the  Church  in  America.^ 

Bishop  Seabury  and  the  Eastern  deputies  then  took  their  seats  as 
members  of  the  Convention,  amid  general  rejoicing. 

After  adding  Dr.  Parker  and  Mr.  Jarvis  to  the  committee  on  the 
revision  of  the  Canons,  the  Convention  adjourned  for  the  day. 

Upon  Saturday  the  Convention  met,  and  after  prayers  read  by  the  Rev. 
Uzal  Ogden  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  listening  to  some  letters  from 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Provoost  of  New  York,  who  was  detained  by  illness, 
resolved  that  there  was  now  in  this  Convention,  agreeably  to  the  revised 
Constitution,  a  separate  House  of  Bishops.  The  Bishops  withdrew  to 
another  room  in  the  State  House,  where  the  sessions  had  been  held  since 
Friday.  Both  houses  considered  the  revision  of  the  Prayer  Book,  or 
rather  the  setting  forth  of  a  new  book.  By  general  consent  the  proposed 
Book  was  not  mentioned.  The  lower  house  proceeded  on  the  assumption 
that  they  were  preparing  an  entirely  distinct  form  of  Common  Prayer 
according  to  their  resolutions.  In  the  House  of  Bishops,  over  which  the 
Bishop  of  Connecticut  presided,  the  English  Book  served  as  the  basis 
with  such  modifications  as  seemed  necessary  to  adapt  it  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  American  Church.  It  is  not  intended  to  detail  here  what 
was  then  done.  The  work  of  the  Convention  gave  to  the  American 
Church  the  Prayer  Book  as  it  was  until  the  revision  of  1892.  In  that 
work  Bishop  Seabury  and  the  Connecticut  deputies  had  an  influential 
part. 

That  nearly  a  year  should  have  elapsed  before  any  action  was  taken  by 
this  Diocese  is  to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  new  standard  Prayer 

'  For  the  action  of  the  Convention,  see  pp.  70-74,  Bioren's  reprint  of  Journals  of  the 
General  Convention :  also  pp.  356-359,  Connecticut  Church  Documents.  II.  For  the  agree- 
ment, seep.  74,  Bioren's  reprint  of  Journals;  also  p.  355,  Connecticut  Church  Documents 
II.  It  is  given  in  reduced  fac-simile  in  Fac-Similes  0/ Church  Documents.  Papers  issued 
by  the  Historical  Club  of  the  American  Church.  1874-1879,  privately  printed. 


— 163— 

Book  was  not  issued  from  the  press  of  Hall  &  Sellers  in  Philadelphia 
until  August,  1790. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Farmar  Jarvis  has  preserved  this  interesting 
statement  taken  from  the  manuscripts  of  his  father,  Bishop  Jarvis,  one 
of  the  proctors  of  the  Connecticut  clergy : 

"With  respect  to  the  extent  of  the  proposed  alterations  the  Convention 
was  equally  divided.  The  delegates  from  five  of  the  States,  viz:  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey, 
were  averse  from  any  alterations,  except  the  omission  or  adaptation  of 
particular  prayers  in  the  daily  service  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  Of  the  two  Bishops  present  (Bishops  Seabury  and  White),  the 
former  advocated  the  alteration  in  the  Communion  Service  and  the 
addition  of  some  occasional  prayers;  in  all  other  particulars  he  strenu- 
ously opposed  even  such  as  were  verbal.  Strong  impressions  that 
a  disunion  would  work  ruin  to  the  American  Church  induced  that  part 
of  the  Convention  most  attached  to  her  interest  and  sound  doctrine  to 
submit  to  a  compromise,  in  hopes  that  at  some  future  day  the  real  friends 
of  the  Church  would  be  enabled  to  correct  these  defects  to  which  the 
want  of  right  principles  and  the  fervor  for  innovation  in  their  opponents 
had  obliged  them  reluctantly  to  consent. 

This  may  account  for  all  the  departures  from  the  English  Prayer  Book, 
and  for  the  latitude  given  in  many  rubrics  to  the  officiating  minister 
which  laid  the  foundation  of  diversity  in  the  use  of  the  Liturgy.'" 

Dr.  Jarvis  adds  to  these  written  words  of  his  father  the  substance  of 
many  conversations  in  which  he  learned  fully  the  events  of  the  critical 
period  of  the  American  Church,  and  states  "the  remarkable  fact  that 
notwithstanding  all  the  prejudice  against  Bishop  Seabury  which  existed 
in  the  minds  of  some  of  the  deputies,  principally  of  the  laity  from  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and  South  Carolina,  all  the  alterations 
which  he  advocated  were  passed  without  a  dissenting  voice.  I  look  with 
devout  thankfulness  to  God  that  the  Prayer  of  Consecration  from  the 
Connecticut  Liturgy,  modelled  as  I  have  said  on  that  of  1549,  was 
admitted  zcithont  opposition  and  in  silence,  if  not  in  reverence.  In 
common  with  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  five  Northern  States  the  Bishop 
lamented  the  exclusion  of  the  Athanasian  Creed,  the  displacement  of  the 
Nicene  as  the  Creed  of  Communion  and  the  false  views  of  absolution 
which  broke  down  the  distinction  between  Communicants  and  Non-Com- 
municants.'" 

1  Pp.  25,  26,  A  Voice  from  Connecticut. 

*  Pp.  26,  27,  A  Voice  from  Connecticut. 

For  an  account  of  the  alterations  see  :  pp.  104-107,  Bp.  Perry's  "Early  American  Prayer 
Books"  in  ''The  Genesis  of  the  American  Prayer  Book.,"  edited  by  C  Ellis  Stevens, 
LL.D.,  D.C.L.    New  York  :  James  Pott  &  Co.    1893.    i2mo,  pp.  xi,  169. 

Liturgiae  Americanae,  or  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  2i%Vi%&A  in  the  United  States  of 
Amenca,  compared  with  the  Proposed  Book  of  1786  and  with  the  Prayer  Book  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  An  Historical  Account  and  Documents  ...  by  William 
McGarvey,  B.D.    Svo,  pp.  Ixxxiii,  490  +  90.    Philadelphia :  MDCCCXCV. 


Note  VI. 


St.  James's  Church  (now  St.  John's),  Waterbury,  was  then  vacant  by 
the  final  removal  of  the  Rev.  James  Scovill  to  Kingston,  New  Brunswick. 
He  seems  to  have  officiated  in  Connecticut  for  the  last  time  in  May,  1788. 
Mr.  Scovill  served  Kingston  for  twenty  years,  building  up  a  strong  and 
extensive  parish.  He  died  on  December  19,  1808,  in  the  seventy-sixth 
year  of  his  age  and  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  ministry.  It  is  an  interest- 
ing fact  that  he  was  succeeded  in  turn  by  his  son  and  grandson,  their 
united  ministry  extending  over  a  period  of  ninety  years.  St.  Paul's 
Church,  Woodbury,  was  then  vacant  by  the  death  of  that  gentle  scholar, 
benevolent  friend,  and  conscientious  parish  priest,  the  Rev.  John  Rutgers 
Marshall,  on  January  21,  1789,  in  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  ministry 
and  the  forty-fifth  of  his  age. 

St.  Michael's  Church  had  been  established  in  that  part  of  Salem 
Society  (now  Naugatuck)  known  as  Gunntown,  on  February  16,  1786, 
by  fourteen  persons  at  the  house  of  Jobannah  Gunn.  It  was  visited 
monthly  by  Mr.  Scovill  as  long  as  he  remained  in  Waterbury,  and  on 
the  other  Sundays  Mr.  Gunn  or  some  other  layman  acted  as  lay  reader. 
A  church  forty-four  by  thirty-four  feet  was  built  on  the  hill  fifty  feet 
west  of  Mr.  Gunn's  in  1803. 

The  advice  of  the  Convocation  seems  to  have  been  followed,  as  the 
records  of  St.  John's,  Waterbury,  show  services  for  brief  periods  held 
in  that  parish  at  that  time  by  the  Rev.  Chauncy  Prindle,  the  Rev. 
David  Foote  and  the  Rev.  Solomon  Blakeslee.  The  records  of  St. 
Paul's,   Woodbury,   mention  these   clergymen  as   officiating. 

The  services  at  Gunntown  were  maintained  until  1806  in  connection 
with  Waterbury,  when  the  Rev.  Chauncy  Prindle  took  charge  of  the 
parish,  giving  it  one-half  of  his  time. 

The  Rev.  Seth  Hart,  deacon,  was  placed  in  charge  of  St.  John's, 
Waterbury,  in  October,  1791. 

The  Rev.  James  Sayre  became  the  incumbent  of  St.  Paul's,  Woodbury, 
in  the  spring  of  1793. 


Note  VII 


The  earliest  degrees  in  divinity  were  conferred  by  the  University  of 
Paris  in  1150.  The  first  recipients  of  that  of  doctor  in  divinity  were 
the  famous  Peter  Lombard  Gilbert  de  la  Portree  according  to  the 
authority  of  the  learned  English  antiquarian,  Antony  de  Wood. 

Other  continental  universities  soon  followed  its  example. 

Divinity  degrees  were  introduced  into  England  either  during  the 
reign  of  King  John  (1199-1216),  or  that  of  King  Henry  III  (1216-1272), 
the  actual  date  being  uncertain.  They  were  conferred  only  by  the 
Universities   of  Oxford   and   Cambridge. 

King  Henry  VHI  (1509-1547),  bestowed  upon  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  the  right  of  conferring  such  degrees.  It  has  been  exercised 
by  the  various  Archbishops  infrequently  and  discreetly,  for  a  "Lambeth 
degree"  has  not  in  England  the  same  significance  as  one  conferred  by 
a  university. 

It  was  the  theory  of  the  middle  ages  that  the  Pope  was  the  head  of 
the  Visible  Church.  An  outcome  of  that  theory  was  the  acknowledgment 
of  him  as  the  head  of  all  the  universities  of  learning.  This  gave  to 
him  the  power  to  bestow  degrees,  which  he  sometimes  exercised,  but 
usually  delegated  to  the  universities. 

This  was  a  perversion  of  the  Episcopal  prerogative  by  which  each 
Bishop  in  his  own  Diocese  exercised  authority  over  both  religion  and 
learning. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Bishops  in  Scotland  governed  their  dioceses 
greatly  impressed  Bishop  Seabury.  The  Bishops  formed  a  college  and 
acted  as  one  body,  but  in  their  respective  jurisdictions  they  called  upon 
three  or  four  of  the  most  learned  of  their  clergy  to  advise  them  in 
matters  of  diocesan  interests  or  controversy. 

It  was  evidently  the  intention  of  the  Bishop  of  Connecticut  to  have 
the  College  of  Doctors  perform  similar  duties,  and  especially  to  approve 
and  examine  candidates  for  Holy  Orders.  The  "Records"  bear  witness 
to  the  activity  and  usefulness  of  the  college.  Each  one  of  the  four 
chosen  for  this  honor  received  afterward  the  degree  *  of  Doctor  in 
Divinity  from  an  incorporated  university.  Dr.  Mansfield,  Dr.  Jarvis, 
Dr.  Hubbard  from  Yale  College  and  Dr.  Dibblee  from  Columbia  College. 


Note  VIII 


This  canon  provides  for  the  recommendation  to  the  Bishop  "by  a 
Standing  Committee  of  the  Convention  of  the  State  wherein  he  resides" 
of  every  candidate  for  Holy  Orders,  and  gives  a  form  of  the  testimonial 
to  be  signed  by  at  least  a  majority  of  the  Standing  Committee.  It 
also  makes  necessary  the  presentation  by  the  candidate  to  the  Standing 
Committee  of  testimonials  of  "good  morals  and  orderly  conduct"  from 
the  minister  and  rector  of  the  parish  in  which  he  lives.^ 

The  essential  features  of  this  Canon  are  embodied  in  the  present 
Title  I,  Canon  3  "Of  Candidates  for  Holy  Orders"  of  the  Digest  of 
Canons.^  More  detailed  information  is  now  required  to  be  given,  and 
there  are  various  additional  regulations  which  the  experience  of  more 
than  a  century  have  shown  to  be  prudent. 


Note  IX 


A  careful  search  of  the  files  of  the  Journal  shows  that  the  publica- 
tion here  ordered  was  never  made. 

*  P.  95,  Bioren's  Reprint  of  the  Journals  of  the  General  Convention. 
'  Pp.  19-25,  Digest  of  the  Canons,  appended  to  the  Journal  of  the  General  Convention  of 
1901. 


Note  X 


The  Reverend  SETH  HART,  M.A. 

Seth  Hart  was  born  at  Berlin,  Connecticut,  on  June  21,  1763.  After 
his  preliminary  course  in  the  common  schools  and  privately,  he  entered 
Yale  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1784.  During  his  period 
of  waiting  for  ordination  he  probably  acted  as  lay  reader  under  the 
direction  of  the  Rev.  Chauncy  Prindle.  He  was  made  deacon  in 
Christ  Church,  Westbury  (now  Watertown),  on  Sunday,  October  9, 
1791.^  He  was  at  once  placed  in  charge  of  St.  James's  Church  (now  St. 
John's),  Waterbury,  which  served  with  Salem  (now  Naugatuck) 
until  1793.  The  "Records"  give  an  account  of  his  ordination  as 
priest  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  Huntington,  on  Sunday,  October  14,  1792.' 

In  1794  he  became  Rector  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Wallingford,  and 
St.  John's  Church,  North  Haven.  He  served  these  parishes  with  abun- 
dant zeal.  In  1798  he  resigned  St.  John's  Church  and  took  charge  of 
the  churches  in  Worthington  (now  New  Britain)  and  Wethersfield 
(now  Newington).  With  three  parishes  to  care  for,  he  found  leisure 
to  instruct  several  young  men  in  the  classics  and  mathematics,  and 
prepare  them  for  college.  The  old  Colonial  parish  of  St.  George,  Hemp- 
stead, Long  Island,  where  the  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury,  father  of  the 
Bishop,  had  served  for  many  years,  became  vacant  in  the  fall  of  1800  by 
the  resignation  of  the  Rev.  John  Henry  Hobart  after  a  brief  incumbency. 
Mr.  Hobart  was  willing  to  delay  his  departure  for  New  York  until  his 
successor  was  appointed.  Mr.  Hart  was  commended  by  Bishop  Jarvis, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Beach  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  and  the  Rev.  Ambrose 
Hull,  to  the  Vestry  of  St.  George's.  Mr.  Hart  was  duly  elected,  and 
entered  upon  his  new  duties  on  the  feast  of  St.  Thomas,  Sunday, 
December  21,  1800.  The  parish  was  an  extensive  one,  its  boundaries 
stretching  for  fourteen  miles  in  one  direction  and  with  two  places  of 
worship  some  miles  apart.  It  was  estimated  by  Mr.  Hobart  that  one 
thousand  souls  were  under  his  pastoral  care,  and  the  number  had 
increased  when  the  new  rector  came  to  Hempstead.  During  his  incum- 
bency, Christ  Church,  Manhansett,  was  built  and  set  off  as  a  separate 
parish,  and  a  new  church  erected  in  Hempstead. 

In  addition  to  his  parish  work  Mr.  Hart  continued  to  receive  and 
educate  pupils  in  his  own  house.  He  was  considered  a  successful 
teacher. 

A  stroke  of  paralysis  in  January,  1829,  caused  Mr.  Hart  to  resign 
the  rectorship  of  St.  George's  on  February  16,  1829.  He  was  given  a 
small  retiring  annuity,  and  lived  in  Hempstead  until  his  death  on  March 
14,  1832,  in  the  sixty-ninth  year  of  his  age  and  the  forty-first  of  his 
ministry. 

Mr.  Hart  was  a  sound  and  practical  preacher  and  a  careful  pastor. 
He  was  "a  good  classical  scholar  and  an  amiable  man  of  a  cheerful 
and  almost  jovial  temperament."^ 

*  P.  8,  Registry  of  Ordinations.  *  P.  43,  ante. 

s  P.  197,  History  of  St.  George's  Churchy  Hempstead^  Long  Island,  N.  V.,  by  the  Rev. 
Wm  H.  Moore,  D.D.,  Rector  of  St.  George's  Church,  Hempstead,  N.  Y.  E.  P.  Dutton 
&  Company.     1881.     i2mo,  pp.  30S. 


Note  XI 


The  Reverend  RUSSELL  CATLIN. 

The  personal  history  of  Mr.  Catlin  is  almost  unknown.  He  was  born 
in  Harwinton,  Connecticut.  He  became  after  his  ordination  the  incum- 
bent of  St.  James's  Church,  Arlington,  Vermont.  The  Church  in  that 
State  had  received  in  the  Colonial  period  and  after  the  Revolution  the 
services  of  several  Connecticut  clergymen,  notably  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mans- 
field, the  Rev.  Samuel  Peters,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Andrews,  and  the  Rev. 
Gideon  Bostwick.  Arlington  was  largely  settled  from  Litchfield  County. 
The  first  Convention  of  clergymen  and  laymen  was  held  at  Arlington 
in  September,  1790,  with  the  Rev.  Daniel  Barber  of  Arlington,  who 
had  been  ordained  by  Bishop  Seabury,  and  the  Rev.  James  Nichols  of 
Sandgate,    and   representatives    from   eight   towns    in   attendance. 

Mr.  Catlin  was  ordained  priest  on  Sunday,  June  9,  1793,  by  Bishop 
Seabury  in  Christ  Church,  Middletown.  Mr.  Catlin  seems  to  have 
succeeded  Mr.  Barber  when  that  ardent  missionary  removed  to  Clare- 
mont.  New  Hampshire,  and  been  a  laborious  and  successful  clergyman. 
In  the  Convention  of  Vermont  Mr.  Catlin  was  prominent,  serving  upon 
the  Standing  Committee,  acting  as  its  President,  and  being  appointed 
upon  important  committees. 

Previous  to  1804  Mr.  Catlin  removed  to  Hartland,  Vermont,  and 
organized  a  parish  at  Plainfield,  New  Hampshire.  In  1804  he  was 
recognized  by  the  diocesan  convention  of  New  Hampshire  and  declared 
to  be  entitled  to  the  leases  of  the  glebe  lands  in  that  town.^  Mr. 
Catlin  was  the  preacher  at  the  Convention  of  Vermont  held  at  Man- 
chester on  September  24,  1806.^  The  last  mention  of  Mr.  Catlin  is 
in  August,  1808,  when  he  is  censured  by  the  New  Hampshire  Convention 
as  acting  in  "an  irregular  and  improper  manner"  concerning  the  glebe 
lands.  The  Convention  does  "not  consider  him  as  a  clergyman  of  this 
State,  he  not  having  a  parish  or  cure  within  the  same."'  This  makes  it 
probable  that  the  organization  at  Plainfield  was  only  temporary. 

There  appears  to  be  no  definite  information  as  to  his  subsequent  life-, 
and  there  is  no  record  of  his  deposition. 

The  Reverend  DAVID  BUTLER,  D.D. 

David  Butler  was  born  in  Harwinton,  Connecticut,  in  1763.  While 
a  very  young  man  he  learned  a  mechanical  trade  which  he  abandoned 
temporarily   to    serve   in   the    Connecticut   line   of   the   American    army 

'  P.  z-i,^  Journals  of  the  first  Twenty  Eight  Conventions  of  the  Diocese  of  Neiv  Hainp- 
shire    .     .     .     Tilton :  George  Burnham  Munsey.     MDCCCLXXXIII.     8vo,  pp.  290. 

*  P.  103,  The  Documentary  History  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Diocese  of 
Vermont.     New  York  :  Pott  &  Amey.     1870.     Svo,  pp.  418. 

3  P.  23,  Journals  of  the  first  Twenty  Eight  Conventions. 


— 169 — 

during  the  later  months  of  the  Revolution.  At  its  close  he  resumed  his 
trade  with  every  prospect  of  success.  He  had  been  much  impressed 
with  the  beauty  of  the  church  service,  although  a  member  of  the 
"Standing  Order,"  and  his  intimacy  with  the  Rev.  Ashbel  Baldwin 
caused  him  to  examine  the  claims  of  the  Church,  and  especially  the 
origin  of  the  Episcopate.  He  became  convinced  of  the  truth  of  her 
doctrines  and  polity,  and  soon  conformed.  He  became  a  candidate  for 
holy  orders  and  was  made  deacon  by  Bishop  Seabury,  as  noted  in 
the  "Records."  Mr.  Butler  immediately  began  his  work  as  incumbent 
of  Christ  Church,  Guilford,  St.  John's,  North  Guilford,  and  the  Church 
at  Killingworth  (now  Clinton).  There  are  no  details  of  his  ministra- 
tions available.  We  only  know  that  Mr.  Butler  lived  in  the  new 
parsonage  at  North  Guilford,  and  that  he  was  diligent  in  his  visiting 
every  portion  of  his  hard  and  laborious  mission  field,  Killingworth 
(now  Clinton)  being  sixteen  miles  southeast  of  his  home. 

The  Bishop  visited  the  parishes  on  October  17,  18  and  19,  1792.  when 
seven  persons  were  confirmed  in  North  Guilford,  one  in  Guilford,  and 
five  in  Killingworth;  a  second  visitation  was  made  in  June,  1794,  when 
twenty-four  were  confirmed  in  North  Guilford,  four  in  Guilford,  and 
twenty-seven  in  Killingworth.  This  shows  honest  and  faithful  work. 
Mr.  Butler  was  ordained  priest  on  Sunday,  June  9,  ^793,  in  Christ 
Church,  Middletown,  at  the  same  time  with  the  Rev.  Solomon  Blakeslee, 
the  Rev.  Edward  Blakeslee,  and  the  Rev.  Russell  Catling.' 

The  parishes  felt  keenly  the  loss  of  such  an  energetic  pastor,  when  m 
the  fall  of  1794  Mr.  Butler  resigned  to  accept  St.  Michael's  Church, 
Litchfield,  which  had  been  without  a  rector  for  a  year,  as  Mr.  Baldwin 
had  gone  to  Stratford  in  November,   1793. 

Mr.  Butler  found  the  people  cordial  and  pleasant,  the  work  exacting 
and  the  results  gratifying.  The  secession  of  some  families  in  I797 
who  built  a  church  at  Bradleyville  (now  Bantam)  rendered  it  expedient 
for  him  to  resign,  which  he  did  on  February  21,  1799-  He  had  already 
been  called  to  Christ  Church,  Reading.  In  this  position  he  served  with 
great  fidelity,  doing  much  missionary  work  for  five  years. 

In  1804  he  received  an  urgent  request  from  the  Hon.  Mr.  Buel  and 
other  churchmen  in  the  new  village  of  Troy,  six  miles  above  Albany, 
New  York,  to  be  their  pastor. 

Mr.  Eliakim  Warren  and  other  men  of  ability  and  wealth  were  removing 
from  Norwalk  to  Troy.  Mr.  Butler  was  earnestly  desired  by  them  to  be 
the  pioneer  priest  in  Troy  and  the  region  round  about.  They  sailed  in 
a  sloop  from  Norwalk  through  the  Sound,  the  East  River,  and  the 
Hudson  River  to  Troy.  The  services  of  the  Church  had  been  com- 
menced twelve  years  before  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ellison,  Rector  of  St. 
Peter's  Church,  Albany.  During  his  residence  with  Mr.  Ellison,  from 
1796  to  1798,  as  a  student  in  divinity,  Philander  Chase,  afterwards  Bishop 
of  Ohio,  officiated  as  lay  reader. 

No  parochial  organization,  apparently,  was  effected  until  Mr.  Butler 
arrived,  when  St.  Paul's  Church  was  organized,  of  which  Mr.  Warren 

1  P.  9,  Registry  of  Ordinations. 


— 170 — 

became  the  senior  warden.  Mr.  Butler  showed  in  his  labors  for  the 
Church  in  Troy,  Lansingburgh  and  Waterford,  sound  judgment,  patient 
tact,  persevering  energy.  Under  him  the  Church,  both  in  the  growing 
village  and  neighboring  towns,  was  firmly  established.  In  1827  the 
present  spacious  Gothic  church  of  St.  Paul's  parish  was  built.  He 
became  recognized  in  the  town  as  a  leader  in  every  good  work  and  his 
missionary  zeal  led  him  into  many  places  remote  from  Troy.  His  intense 
application  had  undermined  his  health,  and  in  1834  he  resigned  his 
rectorship,  retaining,  however,  a  fatherly  interest  in  the  rapid  expansion 
of  the  Church  in  Troy  and  watching  with  interest  the  moral  and  material 
growth  of  the  city. 

Dr.  Butler  died  in  his  eighty-first  year  and  the  fiftieth  of  his  ministry, 
on  July  II,  1842. 

A  parishioner  who  knew  him  well  gives  this  description :  "His  personal 
appearance  was  at  once  commanding  and  attractive.  He  had  a  well  built, 
well  proportioned  frame,  indicating  a  habit  of  activity  and  more  than 
common  power  of  endurance.  His  eye  was  large  and  dark,  and  his 
whole  visage  indicative  at  once  of  a  vigorous  intellect  and  an  amiable  and 
genial  temper."  ^ 

Mr.  Butler  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  in  Divinity  from  Washington 
(now  Trinity)  College,  Hartford,  in  1832.  Dr.  Butler  published  several 
sermons,  including  one  delivered  before  a  Masonic  Lodge  in  St.  Paul's 
Church,  Woodbury,  on  the  feast  of  St.  John,  December  27,  1804. 

A  son  of  Dr.  Butler,  the  Rev.  Clement  M.  Butler,  D.D.,  filled  many 
positions  of  eminence  in  the  Church,  and  died  recently  while  Professor  of 
Ecclesiastical  History  in  the  Philadelphia  Divinity  School. 

»  Letter  of  Judge  David  Buel  of  Troy  in  sketch  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Butler  on  p.  390,  A  nnals 
of  the  American  Pulpit^  V,  by  the  Rev.  William  B.  Sprague,  D.D.  New  York:  Robert 
Carter  &  Brothers.    1861.    8vo,  pp.  xxi,  822. 


Note  XII 


No  action  seems  to  have  been  taken  under  this  vote.  The  only  editions 
of  the  American  Book  of  Common  Prayer  known  to  have  been  pubhshed 
in  the  eighteenth  century  are  those  by  Hall  &  Sellers  in  Philadelphia, 
which  included  the  standard  already  noticed  and  a  "twenty-fourmo" 
(24mo)  book  in  1791  and  1794;  the  second  standard  published  by  Hugh 
Gains  in  New  York  in  1793,  an  octavo  volume,  and  a  folio  Prayer  Book 
in  1795,  and  a  "twenty-fourmo"  edition  in  1798;  Thomas  &  Andrews 
in  Boston  published  a  "twelvemo"  edition  in  1794  and  a  "sixteenmo" 
edition  in  1800;  Young  &  Omrod  of  Philadelphia  published  a  "twenty- 
fourmo"  book  in  1795 ;  T.  Allen  of  New  York  published  a  "twenty-four 
mo"  book  in  1797;  and  Peter  Brynberg  of  Wilmington  a  "twenty- 
fourmo"  book  in  1800.'  Other  editions  may  have  escaped  the  research 
of  the  custodian  of  the  Standard  Prayer  Book,  Dr.  Samuel  Hart,  and  his 
able  coadjutors,  the  Rev.  Dr.  L.  C.  Manchester  and  Mr.  J.  Pierpont 
Morgan. 

The  "Family  Prayer  Book"  prepared  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Brownell,  the 
third  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  appears  to  be  the  first  issued  in  Connecticut. 
This  valuable  compilation  gave  the  full  text  of  the  Prayer  Book  with 
notes  and  comnents,  which  were  distinct  from  the  text.  It  was  issued 
from  Sidney's  Press,  New  Haven,  in  1823,  in  a  large  quarto  volume. 
Other  editions  were  published  in  Hartford,  and  finally  Stanford  & 
Swords,  in  New  York  City,  became  the  publishers. 

The  earliest  edition  of  the  Prayer  Book  without  commentary  with  a 
Connecticut  imprint  is  one  in  thirty-two  mo  published  by  Andrus  &  Judd 
in  Hartford  in  1826;  in  the  same  year  a  forty-eightmo  edition  appeared 
from  the  press  of  S.  Andrus  in  Hartford.  Other  editions,  or  new  impres- 
sions from  the  same  plates,  by  the  same  publishers,  appeared  in  1831,  1832, 
1837,  1844,  1845.  Gurdon  Robbins,  of  Hartford,  published  a  thirty-two 
mo  edition  in  1843,  which  was  reprinted  in  1844  by  Robbins  &  Smith  of 
the  same  city.  Sumner  &  Goodman  of  Hartford  published  a  sixteen 
mo  edition  in  1848.  In  185 1  A.  C.  Goodman  &  Co.  of  Hartford  printed 
a  sixteenmo  edition.^  This  completes  the  list  of  known  editions  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  printed  in  Connecticut. 

1  See  Appendix  to  the  Report  of  the  Custodian  of  the  Standard  Prayer  Book,  p.  535. 
Journal  o/t/ie  General  Convention,  1898. 

2  See  pp.  536,  537,  S38,  539,  540  of  lournal  of  General  Convention  1898,  for  entries  in  Cata- 
ogue  of  Custodian's  Collection. 


Note  XIII 


No  proceedings  were  taken  under  this  vote.  The  subject  of  the 
Bishop's  support  was  one  which  was  much  discussed  both  in  Con- 
vocation and  Convention,  and  resolutions  appointing  a  committee  to 
memorialise  the  General  Assembly  were  adopted  at  the  second  Conven- 
tion of  the  Diocese,  held  in  Middletown  on  June  5,  1793.  Twenty 
trustees,  eight  clergymen  and  twelve  laymen  were  then  appointed/ 
Nothing  was  done  and  the  motion  was  renewed  in  1794.  Finally,  after 
special  convention  in  New  Haven,  October  18,  1797,  a  formal  motion  to 
continue  the  Committee  on  the  Memorial  with  directions  to  apply  to  the 
May  session  of  1798,  was  adopted.  It  would  seem  that  the  Memorial 
was  not  presented  until  May,  1799,  when  it  was  favorably  received  and 
a  resolution  incorporating  "The  Trustees  for  receiving  Donations  for  the 
Support  of  the  Bishop"   was  passed  and  approved.^ 

The  formal  thanks  of  the  Convention  were  given  on  June  6,  1799,  to 
Messrs.  Isaac  Beers,  Elias  Shipman,  Ephraim  Kirby  and  the  Rev. 
Ambrose  Todd,  "for  their  liberal  and  spirited  exertions  before  the  Legis- 
lature, to  obtain  an  act  of  Incorporation  for  the  Bishop's  Fund." 

The  Trustees  named  in  the  resolution  were :  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bela  Hub- 
bard, the  Hon.  Jonathan  Ingersoll,  Mr.  John  Morgan,  the  Hon.  Samuel 
William  Johnson,  Mr.  William  Herron,  Mr.  Jonathan  Starr,  and  Mr. 
Evan  Malbone. 

'  Pp.  6,  7,  Journals  of  the  Annual  Conventions  of  the  Diocese  o/  Connecticut,  1792-1820 
New  Haven  :  Printed  and  published  by  Stanley  &  Chapin.     1842. 

2  Pp.  8,  II,  13,  19,  Journals,  1790-1820.  For  a  copy  of  the  Resolution  see  pp.  326,  347 
Private  Laws,  1789-1830,  pp.  23,  24. 


Note  XIV 


The  Rev.  Dr.  Burhans  has  preserved  this  interesting  account  of  his 
examination  for  Holy  Orders : 

"On  the  first  of  June  I  accompanied  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bostwick  to  Middle- 
town,  Ct.,  to  attend  the  annual  Convention  of  that  Diocese,  who  intro- 
duced me  as  a  candidate  for  holy  orders.  The  next  morning  I  was 
examined  in  the  presence  of  the  Bishop  by  the  late  venerable  Rev. 
Richard  Mansfield,  D.D.,  Rev.  Dr.  Hubbard  &  Rev.  Mr.  Fogg.  They 
were  courteous  &  familiar.  I  was  soon  at  ease  &  unembarrassed,  sup- 
porting myself  [with]  confidence,  with  becoming  humility. 

The  most  puzzling  and  difficult  question  was  put  by  Dr.  Mansfield  as 
follows :  'Aside  from  the  fulfilment  of  Prophecy  &  Miracles,  on  what 
ground  would  you  defend  Divine  Revelation?'  By  its  internal  effects 
upon  the  external  conduct.  Contrast  the  Civilization  &  Morality  of 
nations  who  receive  &  make  the  Bible  the  measure  (?)^  of  their  Council, 
with  the  Nations  destitute  of  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  you  have  ocular 
demonstration  of  the  prosperity  of  the  one  &  the  depression  of  the  other. 
These  with  a  few  of  the  conclusive  arguments  of  Soame  Jennings  in  his 
unanswerable  defence  of  Christianity  from  its  Internal  Evidence. 

This  was  perfectly  satisfactory,  &  Testimonials  were  cheerfully  signed 
with  many  flattering  remarks. — In  time  &  due  form  a  Procession  of  the 
Bishop,  Clergy  &  Laity  proceed  to  the  Church  where  I  was  soon  robed  & 
presented  to  the  Bishop  with  his  son  Charles  &  received  the  Order  [of] 
Deacon,  June  5,  1793  in  the  30th  year  of  my  age. 

The  mingled  sensations  of  joy  &  fear  under  the  high  responsibilities 
of  the  office  is  better  realized  by  the  Novitiate  properly  impressed  than 
by  any  language  he  can  express. 

The  next  day  I  parted  from  the  Bishop  &  Clergy  with  mutual  and 
Christian  wishes.'" 

The  Reverend  DANIEL  BURHANS,  D.D. 

Daniel,  a  son  of  Henry  Burhans,  an  officer  in  the  British  army  during 
the  "old  French  war,"  was  born  at  Sherman,  Connecticut,  on  July  7, 
1763.  As  his  father  had  a  large  family  to  support  by  his  work  upon  a 
small  farm,  the  only  opportunity  his  son  Daniel  had  for  education  was 
in  the  district  school  during  the  brief  winter  terms.  He  early  showed  a 
desire  for  knowledge  and  so  impressed  his  teachers  that  one  of  them 
promised  to  aid,  provided  Mr.  Burhans  would  consent  to  send  his  son  to 
college.     This  he  finally  agreed  to  do.     When  seventeen  he  commenced 

1  This  word  is  abbreviated  in  the  manuscript.    It  may  be  "medium." 
^  An  extract  of  a  portion  of  the  MS.  Autobiography  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Burhans,  D.D., 
in  possession  of  the  writer. 


—174— 

his  preparation  for  college,  combining  with  it  work  upon  the  farm  in 
summer  and  teaching  in  the  winter.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he  was 
ready  for  college,  but  upon  visiting  his  old  teacher  found  him  dying. 
This  disappointment  was  severe,  but  determined  him  in  a  newer  part  of 
the  country  to  make  his  own  way  and  secure  an  education.  He  went  to 
Lanesborough,  Massachusetts,  in  the  heart  of  the  Berkshires.  Here  at 
first  working  for  his  board  he  attended  a  school  of  high  grade  and  made 
as  rapid  progress  as  the  incompetence  of  the  teacher  would  permit. 
Finally  his  natural  ability  and  acquired  knowledge  was  recognized.  The 
teacher  was  dismissed  and  Mr.  Burhans  offered  the  principalship,  which 
he  accepted.  The  school  grew  and  flourished  and  a  large  brick  school 
house  was  built  for  him. 

Lanesborough  was  a  part  of  the  missionary  circuit  of  the  Rev.  Gideon 
Bostwick.  During  a  revival  in  the  Congregational  Church,  which  Mr. 
Burhans  attended,  several  theological  and  philosophical  questions  con- 
cerning Regeneration,  Election,  and  the  Means  of  Grace,  were  brought 
before  him.  In  his  examination  of  these  abstruse  subjects  he  found  that 
his  views  of  them  were  widely  different  from  those  of  his  fellow  worship- 
pers. While  his  mind  was  puzzled  with  the  problems,  the  Thirty-Nine 
Articles  of  Religion  were  put  into  his  hands  by  a  friend,  but  without  his 
knowing  with  what  body  of  Christians  they  originated.  Their  state- 
ments seemed  to  him  forcible,  just,  and  true.  When  informed  of  their 
origin  he  immediately  sought  out  Mr.  Bostwick,  found  in  him  a  friend 
and  counsellor,  became  an  attendant  and  soon  a  communicant  in  St. 
Luke's  Church.  So  fully  had  his  thoughts  dwelt  upon  religious  matters 
that  he  determined  to  study  for  the  holy  ministry.^  It  was,  however,  ten 
years  before  his  intention  was  carried  out.  In  the  meantime  he  had 
aided  Mr.  Bostwick  by  reading  the  service  at  Lanesborough  on  three 
Sundays  in  each  month.  For  some  months  he  read  the  service  at 
Lebanon  Springs,  Columbia  County,  New  York,  on  the  western  slope  of 
the  Berkshires,  ten  miles  from  his  home,  then  becoming  a  fashionable 
resort.  After  his  ordination  he  became  the  minister  in  charge  of  Lanes- 
borough and  Lenox,  for  Mr.  Bostwick  had  died  at  New  Milford  on  June 

13,  1793- 

Dr.  Burhans  vividly  pictures  his  work  in  Berkshire  County  and  the 
surrounding  country.  It  was  thorough  and  faithful.  He  was  ordained 
priest  in  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  by  Bishop  Seabury  on  Whitsun- 
Day,  June  8,  1794. 

In  August,  1799,  he  accepted  the  rectorship  of  Trinity  Church,  New- 
town, vacant  by  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Philo  Perry.  He  entered  upon  his 
duties  in  October  and  began  a  long  course  of  usefulness.  "The  church," 
he  records,  "was  filled  to  overflowing.  I  had  a  large  number  of  candi- 
dates for  Communion  at  Easter,  &  to  have  all  things  done  decently  & 
in  order  according  to  the  excellent  provision  made  in  the  Rubrics  I 
invite  [d  the  Bishop]  to  hold  a  Confirmation,  &  rising  of  eighty  were 
confirmed.  And  a  great  proportion  of  [them]  were  admitted  [to]  the 
1  This  religious  experience  is  stated  in  very  nearly  the  exact  words  of  Dr.  Burhans  in 
his  communication  to  Dr.  Pitkin,  who  prepared  his  funeral  sermon. 


—175— 

Holy  Communion  on  Easter  Sunday.  At  this  Revival  while  there  was  a 
Jubilee  in  "the  Church,  the  sectarians  stared  with  astonishment!  And 
were  ready  [to  cry]  out   '[Is]  Saul  among  the  Prophets'?'" 

Dr.  Burhans  became  very  active  in  Diocesan  affairs  and  was  honored 
with  many  offices.  He  was  especially  energetic  as  an  agent  in  securing 
funds  for  the  General  Theological  Seminary,  both  at  its  inception  in  1817 
and  when  in  the  Diocese  from  1820  to  1822.  Upon  the  verge  of  old  age 
he  resigned  his  parish  on  November  i,  1830.  Without  accepting  another 
charge  he  officiated  in  St.  Paul's,  Woodbury,  Christ  Church,  Bethlehem, 
and  Christ  Church,  Roxbury.  In  1831  he  became  rector  of  St.  Peter's 
Church,  Plymouth,  where  he  served  six  years,  when  he  resigned,  as  the 
infirmities  of  old  age  were  increasing  upon  him.  He  temporarily  served 
at  Oxford  and  Zoar  for  some  time,  and  in  1844  he  retired  from  the  active 
duties  of  the  ministry  and  spent  the  remaining  years  of  his  life  at  Pough- 
keepsie.  New  York.  He  retained  his  vigor  of  mind  and  body  to  the  last. 
In  his  ninety-first  year  he  commenced  his  "Autobiography,"  of  which 
only  a  portion  seems  to  have  been  preserved.  He  was  a  storehouse  of 
information  upon  all  matters  of  Connecticut  diocesan  history,  and  his 
recollections  of  Bishop  Seabury  and  Bishop  Jarvis,  recorded  in  Dr. 
Sprague's  "Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,"  are  graphic  and  lifelike.  He 
departed  this  life  peacefully  on  December  30,  1853,  in  the  ninety-first 
year  of  his  age  and  the  sixty-first  of  his  ministry. 

He  received  from  Washington  (now  Trinity)  College  the  degree  of 
Doctor  in  Divinity  in  1831. 

While  he  wrote  much  he  seems  to  have  published  only  one  sermon: 
The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  the  Election  of  Jacob  and  the  Rejection  of 
Esau  Considered.' 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Buel,  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  Poughkeepsie.  at  the 
time  of  Dr.  Burhans'  residence,  says  that  he  was  "a  man  of  com- 
manding personal  appearance,  of  a  large  and  well  built  frame,  of  a 
healthy  and  ruddy  countenance,  of  a  nervous  temperament  and  somewhat 
quick  in  his  movements.  His  manners,  though  not  highly  polished, 
were  simple  and  natural,  and  evinced  what  he  actually  possessed,  a  fine 
genial  spirit."^ 

Dr.  Burhans  was  the  last  survivor  of  those  ordained  by  Bishop  Sea- 
bury.  During  the  session  of  the  General  Convention  of  1853  in  the  City 
of  New  York  he  was  formally  welcomed  in  the  House  of  Bishops. 

The  Reverend  CHARLES  SEABURY. 

Charles,  the  youngest  son  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  and  Mary  (Hicks) 
Seabury,  was  born  at  Westchester,  New  York,  on  May  20,  1770.  When 
he  was  five  years  old  he  was  taken  by  his  father  to  New  York  City,  where 
the  family  remained  during  the  Revolution  and  until  Bishop  Seabury 
assumed  his  Episcopal  duties  and  made  his  home  at  New  London. 

1  MS.  Autobiography  of  Dr.  Burhans. 

2  Vergennes,  1810 ;  reprinted,  1828.     8vo,  pp.  32. 

'  P.  414,  Dr.  Wm.  B.  Sprague's  ^««a/.f  of  the  American  Pulpit^  V. 


— 176 — 

He  studied  theology  under  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mansfield  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
William  Smith  the  younger,  then  at  Narragansett,  Rhode  Island.  With 
these  well  read  divines  he  was  made  ready  for  ordination.  Upon  his 
return  to  New  London  he  pursued  a  special  course  of  systematic  divinity 
with  his  father.  He  was  made  a  deacon,  as  the  "Records"  note,  on 
June  5,  1793.  He  spent  the  year  after  his  ordination  at  Ripton  (now 
Huntington)  in  charge  of  St.  Paul's  Church.  He  assisted  his  father  in 
New  London  during  his  frequent  absences  until  the  fall  of  1795,  when  he 
was  called  for  six  months  to  Grace  Church,  Jamaica,  Long  Island.  Here 
his  services  were  appreciated  and  he  found  much  parish  work  to  be  done. 
The  sudden  death  of  his  father  on  February  26,  1796,  summoned  him  once 
more  to  New  London. 

On  March  28,  1796,  he  was  called  to  the  rectorship  of  St.  James's 
Church,  New  London,  which  he  accepted.  Without  the  force  and  grace  of 
his  father  or  the  profound  knowledge  of  men  and  books  which  made  the 
Bishop  preeminent,  his  son  Charles  was  an  excellent  parish  priest.  Few 
events  occurred  during  his  rectorship,  which  covered  the  period  of  depres- 
sion, financial  and  spiritual,  immediately  preceding  and  during  the  War  of 
1812.  On  July  17,  1796,  Mr.  Seabury  was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop 
Provoost  in  St.  George's  Chapel,  New  York  City.  In  1814  Mr.  Seabury 
removed  to  Long  Island  and  became  Rector  of  Caroline  Church,  Setauket. 
Here,  in  pleasant  surroundings,  in  the  busy  and  unnoted  cares  of  a 
rural  parish  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days.  For  several  years  he 
had  charge  also  of  Huntington  and  Islip. 

In  1843  he  resigned  and  accepted  a  retiring  pension  from  the  Aged 
and  Infirm  Clergy  Fund  of  the  Diocese  of  New  York.  His  home  was 
still  in  Setauket,  where  he  died  on  December  29,  1844,  in  the  seventy- 
fourth  year  of  his  age,  fifty-first  of  his  ministry. 

Bishop  Onderdonk,  in  announcing  his  retirement  to  the  Convention, 
said  that  he  had  since  he  was  commissioned  to  the  ministry  given  him- 
self to  his  Master's  work,  "unweariedly,  disinterestedly,  and  with  no 
small  share  of  trial  and  self  sacrifice."^ 

Dr.  Hallam  says :  "His  was  the  fate  of  too  many  of  our  clergy  even  now, 
whose  life  is  but  the  trial  of  the  varieties  of  starvation,  and  it  is  believed 
that  his  removal  to  Setauket  brought  with  it  little  alleviation  of  his  con- 
dition, so  that  his  whole  life,  that  of  a  good,  kind-hearted,  sensible  and 
faithful  man,  was  but  a  long  struggle  with  adversity,  which  after  being 
maintained  for  more  than  half  a  century  with  a  zeal  and  ardor  which 
trouble  and  privation  could  not  abate,  and  age  could  scarcely  dull,  has 
ended  at  last  we  doubt  not  in  a  better  and  enduring  substance."" 

Mr.  Seabury  was  the  third  in  the  illustrious  line  of  clergymen  in  one 
family,  his  grandfather,  Samuel  Seabury,  having  been  the  first  resident 
missionary  in  New  London.  His  son  was  the  well  known  Dr.  Samuel 
Seabury,  editor,  theologian,  and  professor,  and  his  grandson  is  the  present 
senior  professor  in  the  General  Theological  Seminary,  Dr.  William 
Jones  Seabury,  the  eminent  canonist. 

1  P.  401,  Sprngxie's  A nna/s,  V.  ^  P.  83,  Annals  0/ Si.  James's,  New  London. 


Note  XV 


This  refers  to  an  inhibition  of  Mr.  Sayre  from  officiating  in  any  of  the 
churches  of  the  Diocese  until  he  accedes  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
Church  and  conforms  to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  the  American 
Church.     No  copies  of  this  paper  seem  to  be  in  existence. 


Note  XVI 


The  Reverend  CxA.LEB  CHILD. 

Nothing  seems  to  be  known  of  the  birth  or  parentage  of  Mr.  Child. 

He  was  made  deacon  in  Christ  Church,  Stratford,  on  the  first  Sunday 
after  Trinity,  June  7,  1795,  at  the  last  ordination  held  by  Bishop  Sea- 
bury.^ 

He  was  placed  in  charge  of  St.  James's  Church,  Great  Barrington, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  remained  for  nearly  two  years.  He  seems  to 
have  returned  to  Connecticut  and  officiated  wherever  there  was  a 
vacancy. 

As  early  as  1800  rumors  affecting  his  character  were  in  circulation  and 
a  formal  complaint  made  to  the  Convocation.  The  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee was  made  at  Newtown  on  June  2,  i8or.  It  had  found  the  charges 
true  and  the  Bishop  was  asked  to  publish  his  sentence  of  degradation  in 
such  way  and  manner  as  he  shall  judge  proper/ 

The  sentence  was  pronounced  on  Wednesday,  June  2,  1802,  by  the 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese  and  entered  on  the  "Records."^  No  details  of 
his  subsequent  life  have  been  found  after  a  careful  investigation  of 
probable  sources  of  information. 

The  Reverend  SMITH  MILES,  M.  A. 
Manoah  Smith  Miles  was  born  in  Derby  on  March  19,  1766.  Pie  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  the  town  and  studied  by  himself  and  under 
competent  tutors  until  ready  for  college.  He  was  graduated  with  honor 
from  Yale  College  in  1791.  He  evidently  soon  determined  to  study  for 
the  ministry,  as  the  "Records"  show.  He  was  made  deacon  on  June  7, 
1795,  in  Christ  Church,  Stratford,  by  Bishop  Seabury,  at  the  same  time 
with  Mr.  Caleb  Childs  and  Mr.  Alexander  Viets  Griswold.* 

'  P.  10,  Registry  of  Ordinations. 

2  P.  55,  <inte.  3  p.  jg,  ante.  *  P.  lo,  Registry  of  Ordinations. 

12 


-178- 

Mr.  Miles  took  charge  of  Trinity  Church,  Branford,  Christ  Church, 
Guilford,  and  St.  John's,  North  Guilford.  His  work  was  difficult  and 
required  much  effort,  as  the  parishes  were  several  miles  from  each  other. 
He  made  here  full  proof  of  his  ministry.  In  1796  he  became  the  min- 
ister in  charge  of  Christ  Church,  Middle  Haddam,  and  Trinity  Church, 
Chatham.  In  this  field  of  labor  he  was  most  earnest  and  successful. 
His  charge  of  Middle  Haddam  continued  until  1810,  when  he  devoted 
himself  wholly  to  Chatham.  He  was  a  good  pastor  and  considered  an 
instructive  preacher.  Like  many  of  the  country  parsons  he  kept  for 
many  years  a  classical  school,  which  gained  a  high  reputation.  After  a 
ministry  of  nearly  thirty-four  years,  he  died  on  January  30,  1830,  in  the 
sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

The  Right  Reverend  ALEXANDER  VIETS  GRISWOLD,  D.D. 

Alexander  Viets,  a  son  of  Elisha  and  Eunice  (Viets)  Griswold,  was 
born  in  Simsbury,  Connecticut,  on  April  22,  1766.  His  ancestry  was 
distinguished  in  the  annals  of  the  Colony,  and  his  father  was  a  man  of 
high  reputation  in  the  community.  His  mother  had  the  charge  of  his 
early  education  and  taught  him  carefully  the  rudiments  of  what  was  then 
considered  essential  for  one  not  designed  for  the  law  or  ministry.  He 
then  came  under  the  instruction  of  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Roger  Viets, 
Rector  of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Simsbury,  whose  attainments  in  both 
literature  and  the  classics  were  remarkable.  It  was  intended  by  the 
family  and  Mr.  Griswold  that  he  should  accompany  his  uncle  to  Nova 
Scotia,  where  he  accepted  the  parish  of  Digby.  Mr.  Griswold's  early 
marriage,  however,  interfered  with  their  plan.  He  temporarily  aban- 
doned the  study  of  theology  and  commenced  to  read  law.  It  was  the 
faithfulness  of  his  pastor,  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Todd,  that  brought  him  to  a 
renewed  sense  of  his  duty  and  led  to  his  becoming  a  candidate  for  holy 
orders.     He  was  made  deacon  in  Christ  Church,  Stratford,  on  June  7, 

I79S-' 

His  first  charge  was  at  Cambridge  (now  Bristol),  Harwinton  and 
Northfield.  The  stations  were  eight  miles  distant  from  each  other.  He 
gave  to  Trinity  Church,  Northfield,  and  to  St.  Mark's,  Harwinton,  one- 
quarter  each  of  his  time.  The  remainder  he  devoted  to  St.  Matthew's, 
East  Plymouth,  to  which  church  the.  people  of  Cambridge  then  came.  In 
this  work  Mr.  Griswold  was  extremely  useful.  He  was  honored  and 
respected  by  every  one  in  a  wide  region  of  country.  A  few  months  after 
his  incumbency  the  new  church  of  St.  Matthew's  was  ready  for  conse- 
cration. The  Convocation  met  on  October  22,  1795,  and,  as  the  Records 
state,  the  Church  of  St.  Matthew's  was  consecrated  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Griswold  ordained  priest.^ 

"Then,  too,  it  was,  though  with  no  thought  or  expectation  of  such  a 
thing,  that  the  clergy  proposed  to  the  Bishop  and  to  myself  that  I  should 

1  P.  10,  Registry  of  Ordinations. 

^  P.  10,  Registry  of  Ordinations.     P.  49,  ante. 


—1/9— 

be  ordained  priest,  which  was  accordingly  done."*  Mr.  Griswold  now 
redoubled  his  efforts,  and  by  his  long  missionary  journeys  extended  a 
knowledge  of  the  Church  to  many  hamlets  very  remote  from  his  home. 
In  June,  1804,  after  much  solicitation  he  accepted  the  very  pressing  call 
of  St.  Michael's  Church,  Bristol,  Rhode  Island.  Here,  amid  happy  sur- 
roundings, with  a  parish  compact  and  aggressive,  he  spent  twenty-six 
years.  He  was  the  most  prominent  clergyman  in  Rhode  Island,  although 
his  extreme  modesty  and  self-distrust  caused  him  to  shun  publicity.  In 
1810  he  was  about  to  accept  the  charge  of  St.  Michael's,  Litchfield,  as  the 
Rev.  Truman  Marsh  was  unable  to  do  full  duty,  when,  to  his  surprise,  he 
was  informed  of  his  election  on  May  29,  1810,  as  Bishop  of  the  Eastern 
Diocese,  that  confederation  of  the  existing  dioceses  of  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  which  had  been  made 
necessary  by  the  extreme  feebleness  of  the  Church  in  them. 

The  consecration  of  Dr.  Griswold  took  place  in  Trinity  Church,  New 
York  City,  on  May  29,  181 1  by  Bishop  White,  Bishop  Provoo.st  and 
Bishop  Jarvis.  At  the  same  time  the  Rev.  John  Henry  Hobart  was 
consecrated  assistant  Bishop  of  New  York.  This  event  was  the  turning 
point  in  the  history  of  the  American  Church,  the  end  of  the  period  of 
extreme  depression  and  the  beginning  of  a  constant  growth  and 
expansion. 

It  is  unnecessary  here  to  follow  minutely  the  details  of  Bishop 
Griswold's  work  as  Bishop.  It  was  wise,  judicious,  fruitful.  The 
Church  recovered  from  her  despondency  throughout  New  England.  The 
design  of  the  Eastern  Diocese  was  accomplished.  Bishop  Griswold 
became  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  American  Church  on  the  death  of  Bishop 
White  in  1830. 

From  1830  to  1835  he  was  Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Salem,  Massa- 
chusetts. He  then  relinquished  all  parochial  cares  and  removed  to 
Boston,  giving  himself  fully  to  his  Episcopal  functions.  Upon  the 
morning  of  February  15,  1843,  he  made  a  call  upon  his  recently  conse- 
crated coadjutor  in  Massachusetts,  Dr.  Eastburn,  and  fell  upon  his  door- 
step and  died  instantly.  He  was  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age  and 
the  thirty-fourth  of  his  Episcopate. 

Bishop  Griswold  published  a  few  sermons  and  charges,  among  them 
one  before  the  General  Convention  of  1817. 

He  received  from  Brown  University,  Princeton  University  and  Har- 
vard University  the  degree  of  Doctor  in  Divinity. 

1  P.  70,  Extracts  from  Bp.  Griswold's  Autobiography  in  Memoirs  of  the  Life  0/ the  Rt . 
Rev.  Alexander  Viets  Griswold,  D.D.,  by  John  S.  Stone,  D.D.  Philadelphia:  Stavely  & 
McCalla,  1844.     8vo,  pp.  xl,  620. 


Note  XVII 


The  Bishop  had  early  in  his  Episcopate  set  forth  prayers  for  the  Civil 
authorities/  These  prayers  for  the  use  of  the  Courts  do  not  appear  to 
have  been  printed.  Manuscript  copies  may  have  been  sent  to  the  clergy 
who  desired  them.  They  are  printed  here  through  the  courtesy  of  the 
Rev.  Professor  Seabury. 

Occasional  Prayers  prepared  by  Right  Reverend  Samuel  Seabury,  D.D. 
Bishop  of  Connecticut  and  recorded  in  his  handwriting  in  a  manuscript 
book  entitled,  Occasional  Prayers  and  Offices. 

"OCCASIONAL  PRAYERS. 
At  the  opening  of  a  Court  of  Justice. 

Remember  no  (sic)  Lord  our  ofifences,  etc :    Liturgy. 

O  Lord,  We  beseech  Thee  mercifully  hear  our  prayers  etc — Commination. 

O  God,  Who  art  the  Author  of  Peace  &c :   [  Morning 

O  Lord,  our  Heavenly  Father  &c  )       Prayer. 

The  Prayer  for  the  President. 

The  Prayer  for  all  conditions  of  men. 

This  Collect. 

Almighty  God,  Who  upholdest  and  governest  all  things  in  heaven  and 
on  earth ;  Hear  the  humble  supplications  which  we  make  before  thy 
divine  Majesty  in  behalf  of  the  Court  now  opened  for  the  administration 
of  Justice  to  thy  People.  Let  thy  wisdom  guide  and  direct  all  their 
determinations ;  that  impartiality  and  truth  being  the  directors  of  all 
their  proceedings,  they  may  promote  the  peace,  order,  and  happiness  of 
Civil  Society :  and  that  we  and  all  thy  People  being  in  constant  safety 
under  the  protection  of  thy  good  providence,  may,  under  the  impartial 
administration  of  just  and  equal  laws,  lead  godly  and  quiet  lives  in  this 
world ;  and,  by  thy  mercy,  obtain  everlasting  life  in  the  world  to  come, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  and  Saviour.     Amen. 

General  Thanksgiving. 
Aim.  God,  the  fountain  of  all  wisdom  etc : 
Post  Communion. 
The  Lord's  Prayer  &  Blessing. 

OCCASIONAL   PRAYERS. 

At  the  supreme  Court,  Nezv  London  September  1795. 
Enter  not  into  judgment  etc:    Ps.  cxliii.  2 

or 
If  we  say  we  have  no  sin  etc:    i  John  i.  8,  9. 

>  See  pp.  29,  30  of  Dr.  Hart's  Bishop  Seabury^s  Coininunion  Office. 


— 1«I — 

Collect  for  Ashwednesday. 
Almighty  and  everlasting  God  etc : 

Lord's  Prayer. 
Our  Father  etc : 

Collect  for  Peace,  Morning  Prayer. 

O  God,  from  whom  etc : 

Prayer  for  the  President  &  all  in  authority. 

O  Lord,  our  heavenly  Father,  the  high  and  mighty  etc : 

Prayer  for  the  people  &  government  of  the  U.  States. 

O  Almighty  &  everlasting  God,  we  make  our  supplications  to  thy  divine 
majesty,  humbly  imploring  thy  protection  &  blessing  on  the  people  and 
government  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  especially  on  the 
people  &  government  of  this  State  in  which  we  live — entreating  thy 
favour  and  gracious  goodness  towards  them.  Particularly  we  make  our 
prayers  to  thee  in  behalf  of  this  Court,  by  thy  good  providence,  now 
assembled  for  the  administration  of  justice  to  thy  people.  Look  with 
favour,  O  God,  on  the  Judges  of  the  Court,  on  the  subordinate  officers 
belonging  to  it,  and  on  all  concerned  in  the  administration  of  justice  in 
it.  Direct  them  by  thy  grace  in  whatever  business  shall  come  before 
them;  and  grant  that  all  their  decisions  may  be  grounded  on  the 
principles  of  truth  and  equity:  So  that  peace  and  happiness,  justice  and 
righteousness,  religion  and  piety  may  flourish  among  us  for  all  genera- 
tions :  And  that  thy  people  being  secure,  thro'  the  protection  of  equal 
laws  and  the  administration  of  impartial  justice,  may  joyfully  serve  thee 
in  all  godly  quietness,  and  may  live  in  peace  and  unity  with  each  other, 
and  in  peace  and  friendship  with  all  mankind.  Hear  us,  we  beseech  thee, 
O  God,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  Redeemer  and  Saviour.    Amen. 

Prayer  for  all  conditions  of  men. 

O  God  the  Creator  and  Preserver  of  all  mankind  etc : 

General  Thanksgiving. 

Almighty  God,  Father  of  all  mercies  etc: 
2  Cor.  xiii.  14. 

The  Grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  etc: 

Amen." 


I  certify  that  I  have  compared  the  foregoing  copy  with  the  original 
manuscript  in  my  possession,  and  that  the  same  is  in  all  respects  a  true 
copy  of  the  said  original  and  of  the  whole  thereof,  except  that  the  words 
"Occasional  Prayers"  have  been  in  one  case  omitted  (as  the  heading  of 
a  page  in  the  original  not  needed  in  the  copy),  and  except  that  the 
character  "&"  has  been  sometimes  written  out  as   "and." 

Dated  New  York,  November  27th,  1903. 

Wm.  J.  Seabury. 

13 


Note  XVIII 


Oyster  River  was  a  part  of  the  boundary  between  New  Haven  and 
Orange,  in  which  the  ancient  parish  of  Christ  Church,  West  Haven,  was 
situated.  It  also  gave  its  name  to  a  locality  where  were  many  church- 
men, prominent  among  them  the  descendants  of  Thomas  Clark,  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  parish  in  1732.  Thaddeus  Clark  afterwards  removed 
to  Genesee  County,  N.  Y.,  where  he  continued  to  do  a  good  work  for  the 
Church  in  a  pioneer  community. 


Note  XIX 


The  Hon.  John  Adams,  President  of  the  United  States,  was  at  this 
time  making  a  tour  through  New  England  on  his  way  to  the  seat  of 
Government  at  Philadelphia.  It  was  the  custom  for  all  public  bodies 
and  towns  to  present  to  the  President  a  formal  address.  No  publication 
of  that  period  contains  that  from  the  Convocation,  Mr.  Adams  does  not 
refer  to  it  in  his  "Diary,"  nor  does  his  biographer  allude  to  any  address 
from  religious  organizations. 


Note  XX 


The  need  of  such  an  oflfice  had  been  long  felt.  The  comparative 
insecurity  of  the  tenure  of  office  by  the  clergy,  it  was  thought,  would  be 
taken  away  if  such  a  solemn  service  of  induction  was  used.  The  com- 
piler was  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Smith,  then  Rector  of  St.  Paul's  Church, 
Norwalk,  a  native  of  Scotland,  a  man  of  varied  accomplishments  and  a 
liturgical  scholar  at  a  period  when  few  knew  much  of  such  an  abtruse 
subject  as  liturgies.  The  Office,  after  its  adoption,  was  used  in  the 
Diocese.  It  formed  the  basis  of  the  New  York  Office  of  1802,  and  with 
a  few  changes  was  set  forth  for  general  use  by  the  General  Convention 
of  1804.  In  1868  its  title  was  changed  to  "An  Office  of  Institution." 
Its  use  was  compulsory  by  Canon  until  1832. 


Note   XXI 


The  early  history  of  the  Church  in  Hartford,  the  organization  of  Christ 
Church  and  some  particulars  of  the  consecration  will  be  found  in  the 
carefully  compiled  volume  of  the  present  senior  warden  of  Christ  Church, 
Dr.  Gurdon  W.  Russell,  entitled  Contributions  to  the  History  of  Christ 
Church,  Hartford} 

The  first  church  edifice  was  erected  on  land  which  had  been  originally 
purchased  for  the  newly  organized  parish  in  1762,  and  comprehended  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  lot  on  which  the  present  church  building  stands. 
The  French  and  Indian  War,  soon  followed  by  the  Revolution,  made  it 
impossible  to  build  as  originally  intended.  After  the  Revolution  the  land, 
which  had  passed  out  of  the  possession  of  the  churchmen  of  Hartford, 
was  reclaimed.  On  November  28,  1786,  a  subscription  paper  was  issued 
and  a  little  more  than  three  hundred  pounds  obtained.  In  March,  1792, 
a  contract  was  entered  into  with  Ebenezer  Clark,  joiner,  to  build  the 
frame  of  the  church,  which  was  raised  in  June,  1792.  It  was  ninety  feet 
by  forty- four  in  breadth.  It  was  incomplete  in  1795,  when  five  hundred 
and  seventy-five  dollars  were  secured  to  finish  it.  Mr.  Calvin  Whiting, 
of  Needham,  Massachusetts,  served  as  lay  reader  from  July  to  October, 
1795-  There  seems  to  have  been  no  settled  clergyman  in  the  parish  until 
July  1801,  when  the  Rev.  Menzies  Rayner  of  Elizabeth  Town,  New 
Jersey,  took  charge.  The  parish  had  previously  sought  to  obtain  the 
services  of  the  Rev.  Ashbel  Baldwin,  and  the  Rev.  Ammi  Rogers. 

The  formal  organization  as  a  parish  under  the  charge  of  the  Bishop 
was  on  September  15,  1796,  when  thirty-four  gentlemen  signed  the 
articles  of  incorporation.  Among  them  were  Mr.  John  Morgan,  Mr. 
Wm.  Imlay,  Mr.  Wm.  Burr,  Mr.  Thomas  Sanford,  Jr.,  Horace  Church, 
John  Bull,  John  McCracken." 

The  day  of  the  consecration  was  very  rainy.  Dr.  Russell  gives  the 
contemporary  account  of  the  service  from  the  Couratit  and  a  fac  simile 
of  the  sentence  of  consecration.  The  Instrument  of  Donation  was  read 
by  Mr.  John  Morgan,  the  Senior  Warden.^ 

1  Hartford  :  Belknap  &  Warfield.     1898.     8vo,  pp.  787. 
2  P.  54,  Contributions.  3  Pp.  55,  56,  Contridutions. 


Note  XXII 


This  is  the  first  formal  mention  of  this  erratic  and  pestilent  man,  the 
disturber  of  the  peace  of  the  Church  in  Connecticut. 

Ammi  Rogers,  a  native  of  Branford,  had  studied  theology  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Jarvis,  of  Middletown.  Detected  in  a  flagrant  act  of  immor- 
ality, he  was  sent  from  the  home  of  the  Rector.  For  a  short  time  he 
studied  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mansfield  and  the  Rev.  Edward  Blakeslee  at 
Derby.  He  then  went  into  the  recently  settled  region  about  Saratoga, 
locating  at  Ballston.  His  work  seems  remarkable,  and  much  of  it  was 
permanent.  When  he  sought  Holy  Orders  in  New  York  in  the  summer 
of  1792  rumors  of  his  misconduct  had  reached  Dr.  Beach,  an  influential 
member  of  the  Standing  Committee,  and  he  demanded  a  certificate  of 
good  moral  character  from  the  Bishop  and  clergy  of  Connecticut.  This 
Mr.  Rogers  did  not  obtain,  but  he  did  secure  from  a  friend  who  was 
visiting  the  Rev.  Philo  Perry,  Secretary  of  the  Standing  Committee,  a 
certificate  in  the  name  of  Mr.  Perry  that  no  proceedings  had  ever  been 
taken  against  him.  Made  deacon  on  June  24,  1792,  by  Bishop  Provoost 
in  Trinity  Church,  New  York  City,  he  remained  at  Ballston  for  nine  years 
longer  and  then  returned  to  Branford  in  August,  1801.  He  took  charge 
of  Trinity,  Branford,  St.  John's,  Northford,  St.  Paul's,  Wallingford,  and 
East  Haven. 

Mr.  Rogers  attributes  the  hostility  and  suspicion  of  the  Bishop  and 
clergy  to  politics.  "Although  I  have  never  interfered  in  politics,  yet 
I  now  thought  it  best  for  the  Bishop  and  all  the  clergy,  to  join  with  the 
republicans  and  vote  for  Colonel  Ephraim  Kirby  to  be  Governor  of  Con- 
necticut, that  he  was  a  worthy  man,  a  well  informed  Churchman,  and 
would  without  doubt  use  his  best  endeavors  to  have  those  offensive  laws 
repealed  which  gave  to  one  sect  or  party  a  superiority.  At  this  the 
Bishop  and  some  of  the  clergy  were  very  much  displeased ;  and  this  has 
been  the  cause  of  persecution,  slander  and  abuse,  of  civil  prosecution, 
of  distress,  of  imprisonment,  of  disgrace  and  ruin  to  myself,  to  my  chil- 
dren and  friends."^ 

Mr.  Rogers  claimed  that  he  was  a  clergyman  in  good  standing  and  had 
presented  in  his  behalf  to  the  Convocation  at  Danbury  in  June,  1803,  a 
petition  from  the  churches  in  Branford,  East  Haven,  Northford,  Wal- 
lingford, Durham,  and  also  one  from  Dr.  Mansfield,  Mr.  Tyler,  Mr. 
Blakeslee,  Mr.  Todd,  Mr.  Mills  and  Mr.  Warren,  stating  their  knowledge 
of  Mr.  Rogers,  his  character  and  standing  in  the  Church,  of  the  union 
and  uncommon  prosperity  of  the  churches  under  his  care,  "and  prayed 
the  Bishop  and  clergy  to  be  reconciled  to  him,  or  to  bring  forward  their 

'^  Y-p.  yj^-iZ^  Memoirs  of  the  Rev.  Ammi  Rogers  .  .  .  Composed,  compiled  and  written 
by  the  Rev.  Ammi  Rogers.    i2mo.    Published  for  subscribers  by  the  Author.    1824. 


-i85- 

accusations,  if  any  they  had.  In  answer  to  which  the  Bishop  arose  and 
standing  within  the  rails  of  the  altar,  and  near  the  communion  table  in 
the  church  in  Danbury,  and  as  president  of  the  Convention  in  1803, 
declared  and  said,  We  (meaning  the  Bishop  and  clergy)  have  nothing 
against  Mr.  Rogers.  We  acknowledge  his  character  and  authority  to  be 
good,  and  on  receiving  a  single  line  from  the  Bishop  of  New  York  we 
would  receive  him  with  open  arms.' '" 

Mr.  Rogers's  statements  are  not  corroborated  by  any  member  of  the 
Convention  or  Convocation. 


Note  XXIII 


This  is  the  first  periodical  publication  of  the  American  Church.  It  was 
issued  with  the  cordial  approval  and  aid  of  Bishop  Jarvfs.  Its  articles 
were  clear  and  direct  and  their  teaching  was  sound  and  practical.  The 
first  number  appeared  in  January,  1804,  with  a  well  written  address 
stating  its  objects.  Several  of  the  clergy  of  literary  ability,  including  Mr. 
Baldwin,  Mr.  Rayner,  Mr.  Burhans,  Dr.  Mansfield  and  others,  con- 
tributed to  its  pages.  The  first  editor  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Smith, 
then  the  Principal  of  the  Episcopal  Academy  at  Cheshire,  Commenced 
as  a  private  enterprise,  its  promoters  felt  the  need  of  the  support  of  the 
whole  Church  in  Connecticut,  and  knew  that  through  the  Convocation 
this  could  be  obtained. 

Its  original  title  was  The  Churchman's  Magazine  or  Treasury  of 
Divine  and  Useful  Knowledge,  edited  by  a  Committee  of  the  Convocation 
of  Connecticut  A.  D.  1804.  Its  publishers  were  Oliver  Steele  &  Co.,  New 
Haven. 

*  P.  39,  Memoir. 


Note  XXIV 


The  action  of  Bishop  Jarvis  was  based  upon  the  decision  of  the  House 
of  Bishops  in  September,  1804,  to  which  Mr.  Rogers  had  appealed. 
There  was  a  full  hearing  of  both  the  representatives  of  Mr.  Rogers  and 
the  Church  in  Connecticut.  Finally  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Rogers  was 
declared  during  his  residence  in  Connecticut  to  have  been  "insulting, 
refractory,  and  schismatical  in  the  highest  degree."  The  action  of  the 
Church  in  Connecticut  was  approved  and  the  Bishops  were  of  opinion 
"that  he  deserves  a  severe  ecclesiastical  censure — that  of  degradation 
from  the  ministry. 

Upon  the  question  as  to  what  authority  Mr.  Rogers  was  amenable,  they 
were  unanimous  in  declaring  that,  as  there  was  no  Canon  regulating 
clerical  removals  until  that  Convention,  he  was  amenable  to  the  authority 
of  that  diocese  exclusively."^ 


Note  XXV 


No  action  seems  to  have  been  taken  under  this  appointment,  nor  does 
it  appear  that  the  same  committee  prepared  a  history  of  the  action 
relating  to  Mr.  Rogers. 


Note  XXVa 


After  1808  the  Churchman's  Magazine  was  published  in  Connecticut, 
but  with  the  cooperation  and  financial  aid  of  Dr.  Hobart  and  others  in 
the  City  of  New  York.  Dr.  Hobart  had  been  anxious  for  its  removal  to 
that  city.  The  publication  had  never  commanded  the  support,  literary 
and  pecuniary,  which  it  deserved.  This  action  was  only  preliminary  to 
the  transfer  of  the  publication,  which  took  place  early  in  1808,  when  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Hobart  became  its  editor. 

'  The  full  decision  is  in  Bioren's  Reprint  Journals  o/  the  General  Convention  ;  also  pp. 
34-36  Dr.  Beardsley's  History. 


Note  XXVI 


The  Reverend  DAVID  BALDWIN. 

David,  a  son  of  William  Baldwin,  was  born  in  Litchfield  on  February 
4,  1780.  While  carefully  educated,  he  did  not  enjoy  the  advantages  of  a 
college  course.  He  was  a  student  in  theology  with  his  cousin.  Dr.  Ashbel 
Baldwin,  and  is  known  to  have  been  officiating  as  lay  reader  in  Guilford 
and  North  Guilford  in  November,  1806.  In  March,  1807,  he  was  called 
to  be  the  minister  of  Christ  Church,  Guilford,  but  was  not  made  deacon 
until  September  i,  1807.'  Mr.  Baldwin  served  with  great  fidelity  and 
unwearied  patience  the  three  parishes  of  Guilford,  North  Guilford  and 
North  Killingworth,  sometimes  called  North  Bristol.  There  are  still 
living  those  who  remember  him  with  gratitude  and  affection.  At  Easter 
1834  he  resigned  the  charge  of  Guilford,  but  retained  the  other  parishes 
and  added  Branford  until  1838.  In  1851  he  resigned  North  Guilford. 
He  continued  to  serve  Zion  Church,  North  Branford,  and  Union  Church, 
Killingworth,  until  1858,  when  his  age  and  infirmities  made  his  retire- 
ment from  all  active  service  necessary.  Bishop  Williams  said  of  him 
then,  that  he  was  "the  senior  presbyter  of  the  Diocese  and  carried  with 
him  into  his  retirement  the  affectionate  veneration  of  his  brethren,  and 
the  blessing  of  those  to  whom  he  had  so  long  and  faithfully  ministered." 
He  died  at  Guilford  on  August  2,  1862,  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his 
age  and  the  fifty-sixth  of  his  ministry. 

The  present  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  in  his  history  of  the  parish, 
says  of  him  that  "he  was  to  all  men  a  model  of  Christian  fidelity,  and 
the  members  of  his  widely  scattered  flock,  whom  he  never  neglected  in 
heat  or  cold,  in  sunshine  or  storm,  though  often  exposed  as  he  went  to 
and  fro  on  horseback,  to  severe  hardship,  and  to  whom  his  house  was 
open  for  unstinted  hospitality,  found  in  him  a  noble  example  of  that 
unswerving  devotion  to  pastoral  duty  which  distinguished  the  early 
representatives  of  Connecticut  Churchmanship."" 

■  Registry  o/  Ordinations. 

2  P.  70,  History  of  Christ  Episcopal  Church. 


Note  XXVII 


The  condition  which  led  to  this  appointment  was  the  controversy 
aroused  in  May,  1811,  by  the  publication  of  the  Rev.  Cave  Jones,  an  assist- 
ant minister  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York  City,  of  "A  Solemn  Appeal 
to  the  Church."  In  it  he  arraigned  Dr.  Hobart,  his  colleague,  for  over- 
bearing and  insulting  conduct ;  he  accuses  him  of  love  of  power  and  with 
a  desire  to  make  the  whole  diocese  yield  to  his  will.  This  aroused  a 
fierce  controversy  and  pamphlet  war,  which  was  continued  for  nearly  two 
years  and  divided  the  Church  in  New  York  City  and  throughout  the 
State. 

The  overtures  of  this  Committee  of  the  Convocation  were  received 
with  coldness  by  the  authorities  in  New  York  and  no  conference  was 
ever  held.  Connecticut  was  even  accused  of  "officious  meddling."  But, 
as  Dr.  Beardsley  well  says,  "It  was  not  officious  meddling  in  them  to 
wish  that  the  parties  involved  might  correct  their  misunderstandings, 
sacrifice  their  worldly  resentments,  if  they  had  any,  at  the  foot  of  the 
Master's  Cross,  and  henceforth  proceed  hand  in  hand,  as  champions  of 
the  faith,  to  build  up  the  Kingdom,  whose  sublime  watchword  was 
'Glory  to  God  in  the  highest;    and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  towards 


Note  XXVIII 


This  was  one  of  several  unsuccessful  attempts  to  obtain  a  charter  for 
Seabury  College,  a  cherished  plan  of  our  spiritual  ancestors. 


Note  XXIX 


The  origin  of  this  Library  is  obscure.  It  is  claimed  that  the  intention 
was  to  form  a  collection  for  the  benefit  of  the  clergy  of  Christ  Church, 
Stratford,  and  for  others  in  Fairfield  County.  There  is  no  tradition 
remaining  concerning  it  in  Stratford,  and  nothing  appears  upon  the 
records  of  Christ  Church  in  regard  to  it.  None  of  the  books  are  now  in 
the  library  of  the  Episcopal  Academy. 

•  P.  78,  Dr.  Beardsley's  History,  II ;  see  also  Case  of  Cave  Jones.     New  York,  1813. 


Note  XXX 


The  question  of  the  propriety  of  allowing  deacons  who  had  not  been 
instituted  into  any  parish  to  vote  in  Convention  and  take  part  in  the 
election  of  a  Bishop  had  been  very  widely  and  acrimoniously  discussed. 

The  Rev.  Philander  Chase  of  Hartford  had  written  upon  the  subject 
to  Bishop  Claggett  of  Maryland.  He  evidently  led  the  opposition  to  the 
practice. 


Note  XXXI 


Article  3  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Diocese  as  adopted  on  June  6, 
1792,  by  the  first  Convention  of  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  Diocese 
reads : 

When  the  Episcopate  of  this  Church  shall  become  vacant  by  death  or 
otherwise,  the  Presbyters,  Deacons,  and  Lay  Deputies  from  the  several 
Churches  in  the  Diocese,  shall  meet  within  three  months  of  the  time 
when  said  vacancy  shall  happen,  either  at  New  Haven  or  Middletown,  in 
order  to  elect  a  person  to  fill  the  Episcopal  Chair,  and  the  time  and  place 
of  such  meeting  shall  be  notified  by  a  Standing  Committee  annually  to 
be  appointed  for  that  and  other  purposes,  by  publishing  the  same  in  two 
or  more  Newspapers  in  this  State,  at  least  four  weeks  successively, 
previous  to  said  Meeting.  And  whosoever  shall  be  elected  by  a  majority 
of  the  votes  of  the  clergy  then  present,  shall  be  considered  as  duly 
elected,  provided  the  person  chosen  shall  be  approved  by  a  majority  of 
the  Lay  Deputies.^ 

The  Constitution  was  evidently  quoted  from  memory  by  the  mover  of 
this  resolution.  The  new  paragraph  would  follow  in  the  original  con- 
stitution the  words :  "by  death,  or  otherwise."  It  was  intended  to 
exclude  unemployed  deacons. 

'  p.  4,  Reprint  of  the  Journals^  1792-1820. 


Note  XXXII 


The  career  oi  defiance  to  constituted  authority  pursued  by  Mr.  Ammi 
Rogers  can  be  followed  in  the  pages  of  Dr.  Beardsley's  admirable 
"History."' 

This  attempt  to  force  recognition  of  his  claims  upon  the  clergy  is  the 
last  made  by  him.  He  thought  that  when  the  Diocese  came  under  the 
charge  of  Bishop  Hobart  that  his  case  could  be  reopened.  In  this  he 
was  mistaken  and  the  Convocation  took  the  only  proper  and  consistent 
course.  Mr.  Rogers'  Memoirs  contain  letters  written  at  this  time  by  the 
Rev.  Solomon  Blakeslee  and  the  Rev.  John  Tyler  pleading  for  the 
degraded  priest.  There  is  also  one  from  Mr.  Rogers  to  Bishop  Hobart, 
plausible  and  full  of  pious  and  fervent  expressions.^ 


Note  XXXIII 


The  needs  of  the  poorer  clergymen  in  their  old  age  had  been  much 
considered  in  private.  The  deaths  of  several  whose  families  had  been 
left  destitute  brought  the  matter  before  the  clergy  at  this  time. 

But  no  method  suggested  seemed  feasible,  and  even  the  fuller  and 
more  acceptable  plan  presented  in  1823  met  with  little  favor.  In  1845  the 
necessities  of  the  aged  clergy  were  brought  before  the  Convention  again 
and  a  fund  was  created  by  Canon  to  be  disbursed  by  the  Bishop  and 
Standing  Committee.  There  was  such  an  accumulation  of  money  that 
in  1855  a  separate  board  called  "The  Trustees  of  the  Aged  and  Infirm 
Clergy  and  Widows  Fund"  was  incorporated.  The  management  and 
increase  of  that  fund  is  still  under  their  wise  and  prudent  care. 

'  See  pp.  47-53,  54-89,  154-159,  History^  II.  ''■  Pp.  54-63,  Memoijs. 


Note  XXXIV 


The  successive  steps  taken  to  establish  a  second  college  in  the  State 
of  Connecticut,  one  which  should  be  under  the  exclusive  control  of  the 
Church,  are  well  detailed  by  Dr.  Beardsley  in  his  historical  address  on 
the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  Trinity  College.' 

To  all  petitions  and  memorials  presented  on  behalf  of  the  Episcopal 
Academy  to  confer  upon  it  collegiate  privileges  and  rights  the  full 
negative  of  the  Senate,  then  called  Council,  defeated  the  large  majority 
in  its  favor  in  the  Assembly.  With  the  consecration  of  Dr.  Brownell 
as  Bishop  the  opportunity  came.  The  more  liberal  Constitution  of  the 
State  adopted  in  i8r8  made  it  possible  to  urge  the  plan,  which  was  well 
matured.  The  members  of  the  Committee  of  the  Convocation  and  a 
general  committee  selected  by  Bishop  Brownell  and  Dr.  Wheaton  were 
men  of  much  sagacity  and  knew  what  could  be  accomplished.  A 
memorial  to  the  General  Assembly  was  drawn  up  and  copies  widely 
circulated  throughout  the  parishes  of  the  Diocese.  It  was  largely 
signed  and  presented  on  May  13,  1823.  The  charter  applied  for  was 
granted  in  the  lower  house  on  May  16,  and  soon  after  approved  by  the 
Senate  and  signed  by  the  Governor.  It  incorporated  a  body  politic  to 
be  known  as  the  "Trustees  of  Washington  College." 

Bishop  Brownell  was  chosen  President  of  the  College,  and  with  him 
were  associated  as  professors  the  Rev.  George  W.  Doane,  Belles  Lettres 
and  Oratory;  Mr.  Frederick  Hall,  Chemistry  and  Mineralogy;  Mr. 
Horatio  Hickok,  Agriculture  and  Political  Economy;  the  Rev.  Hector 
Humphrey,  Greek  and  Latin. 

The  Trustees  named  in  the  Charter  were :  Thomas  C.  Brownell,  Harry 
Croswell,  Elijah  Boardman,  Samuel  W.  Johnson,  Birdsey  G.  Noble, 
Samuel  Merwin,  Nathaniel  S.  Wheaton,  Elisha  Cushman,  Charles 
Sigoumey,  Thomas  Macdonough,  Richard  Adams,  David  Watkinson, 
Ebenezer  Young,  Jonathan  Starr,  Jr.,  Nathan  Smith,  John  Thompson 
Peters,  Asa  Chapman,  Elias  Perkins,  John  S.  Peters,  Luther  Loomis. 

The  College  was  located  upon  an  elevated  plateau  in  the  City  of  Hart- 
ford, the  people  of  that  city  having  made  the  largest  subscription. 

The  grounds  were  carefully  laid  out  and  ornamented  under  the 
direction  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wheaton,  who  succeeded  Bishop  Brownell  in 
the  presidency.  To  both  of  these  founders  the  Church  in  this  Diocese 
owes  a  debt  of  gratitude. 

In  1848  the  name  was  changed  to  Trinity  College. 

The  original  site  of  the  college  is  now  occupied  by  the  Capitol  of  the 
State. 

1  An  Historical  Address  pronounced  before  the  House  of  Convocation  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Christ  Church,  Hartford,  July  30th,  1851,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Twenty-Fifth  Annual 
Commencement  of  that  Institution,  by  the  Rev.  E.  E.  Beardsley.  M.A.  Hartford  :  Han- 
mer  &  Co.,  Calendar  Press,  1851.    8vo,  pp.  30. 


Note  XXXV 


The  first  series  of  the  Churchman's  Magazine  ended  with  December 
1811.  The  second  series  commenced  in  1813,  with  the  Rev.  John  C. 
Rudd  of  Elizabeth  Town  as  editor.  It  ended  in  1816.  Bishop  Hobart 
estabHshed  in  1817  in  New  York  City  The  Christian  Journal  to  be  his 
official  organ.  It  contained  much  general  church  news  and  original  and 
valuable  articles,  and  obtained  a  wide  circulation.  This  periodical  con- 
tinued until  1831,  when  The  Churchman,  a  weekly  paper,  was  established 
by  Bishop  Onderdonk. 

Connecticut  churchmen  had  always  regretted  the  necessity  which  com- 
pelled them  to  consent  to  the  transfer  of  the  Magazine  to  New  York. 

In  1821  Bishop  Brownell  and  other  clergymen  of  literary  talent  com- 
menced the  publication  of  a  new  series  of  The  Churchman's  Magazine 
after  the  Convention  of  1820  had  formally  requested  them.  All  loss  or 
deficiency  was  to  fall  upon  the  publishers,  without  any  direct  or  indirect 
obligation  on  the  part  of  the  Convention  to  make  up  losses  or  deficiencies. 
This  third  series  was  issued  until  1823,  when  for  lack  of  support  the 
publication  was  suspended. 

The  final  series,  under  the  editorship  of  Dr.  Bronson,  became  a  source 
of  strength  to  the  Diocese.  Its  articles  were  eminently  readable  and  its 
comments  on  Church  events  fresh  and  entertaining.  It  was  continued 
until  the  close  of  1826. 


Note  XXXVI 


Mr.  Barlow's  plan,  which  he  carefully  worked  out  and  presented  in 
an  attractive  manner,  was  for  an  American  society  similar  to  the  well- 
known  Christian  Knowledge  Society  in  England.  Its  chief  function  was 
to  be  the  publication  of  books  of  information  upon  the  Church,  brief  and 
popular  tracts  and  sometimes  reprint  standard  English  Church  classics. 
He  had  received  much  encouragement  from  Bishops  and  other  clergymen. 
The  plan  was  presented  to  the  General  Convention  of  1826  and  referred 
to  a  committee  to  report,  but  no  practical  action  was  taken. 

Its  chief  features  were  used  in  the  establishment  three  years  later  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Press  in  New  York  City.  Mr.  Barlow's 
printed  scheme  is  a  plain  and  practical  document.     It  is  entitled 

"Consideration  on  the  Employment  of  the  Press  as  a  means  of  dif- 
fusing the  Principles  of  the  Church,  with  the  Plan  of  a  Society  and  the 
draft  of  a  proposed  Constitution  adapted  to  that  object,"  by  the  Rev. 
William  Barlow,  Rector  of  Claremont.' 

1  New  York  :  T.  &  J.  Swords,  1826.    8vo,  pp.  24. 


Note  XXXVII 


So  far  as  can  now  be  known  the  Committee  never  carried  out  this 
plan. 


Note  XXXVIII 


The  remainder  of  this  letter  cannot  be  found. 


Note  XXXIX 


This  tour  was  the  outcome  of  Bishop  Brownell's  sermon  before  the 
Domestic  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society  in  Philadelphia  in  August, 
1829.  It  was  upon  "Christian  Zeal"  and  referred  feelingly  to  "the  vast 
territory  of  our  Union,  spreading  to  the  west  and  south,"  not  then  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  any  Protestant  Bishop. 

The  needs  of  the  southwest,  while  not  urged  as  frequently  and  ably 
as  those  of  the  west,  were  nevertheless  pressing.  Many  opportunities 
were  lost  because  no  Bishop  has  visited  them. 

The  proposal  was  to  send  Bishop  Brownell  to  make  a  thorough 
exploration.  The  Directors  requested  him  to  take  the  journey,  perform 
Episcopal  functions  and  inquire  into  the  condition  of  the  few  missions 
there. 

After  some  deliberation  he  accepted  the  duty  laid  upon  him.  He  left 
Hartford  on  November  5,  1829,  went  by  boat  to  New  York,  and  was  joined 
by  the  Rev.  William  Richmond,  a  man  of  intense  zeal  and  missionary 
energy.  Their  route  was  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh  and  down  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  to  New  Orleans.  On  their  way  they  visited 
all  the  churches.  The  Bishop  ordained  some,  confirmed  others  and 
blessed  all. 

In  the  course  of  his  journey  of  six  thousand  miles  he  consecrated 
six  churches,  ordained  one  priest,  confirmed  one  hundred  and  forty-two 
persons,  preached  or  assisted  in  the  services  seventy-four  times,  bap- 
tized twenty-two  children  and  twelve  adults. 

It  was  a  journey  of  great  extent,  free  from  any  serious  illness  or 
accident,  and  set  forward  the  Church  in  that  region.  The  Bishop  pre- 
sided at  the  organization  of  the  dioceses  of  Louisiana  and  Alabama.  He 
returned  to  his  home  in  Hartford  on  March  14,  1830.  A  detailed 
account  from  his  Journal  was  published  in  The  Spirit  of  Missions  in 
1830. 


Note  XL 


Mr.  Phoebus  was  the  organist  of  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven.  He 
had  acquired  much  celebrity  as  a  musician.  His  small  publication  of 
chants  was  long  used  both  in  New  Haven  and  elsewhere. 

Its  title  page  is : 

Chants  adapted  to  the  Service  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States  Compiled  by  John  H.  Phoebus  New  Haven  Pub- 
lished by  Durrie  and  Peck  1831 

i2mo  pp  24    Baldwin  and  Treadway  print 

In  his  preface  he  says : 

"The  following  compilation  is  offered  to  the  public  in  compliance 
with  a  wish  expressed  by  many  Episcopalians  of  this  city,  that  the 
chants  commonly  used  in  the  Church,  might  be  published  in  such  form, 
and  on  such  terms  as  would  induce  the  members  of  the  parish  generally 
to  procure  them. 

Considering  it  also  as  better  the  whole  congregation  should  join  in 
the  chants,  no  less  than  in  the  responses  of  our  services,  the  compiler 
endeavored  to  select  such  pieces  as  may  be  easily  learned;  admitting 
only  those  which  are  calculated  to  give  expression  force  &  solemnity 
to  the  language  of  devotion." 


Note  XLI 


The  Chronicle  of  the  Church  was  a  weekly  paper  of  high  character, 
the  first  work  undertaken  by  Mr.  A.  B.  Cliapin  for  the  Church.  Its 
contents  were  well  arranged  and  readable.  The  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee to  the  Convention  embodied  resolutions  calling  for  new  and 
vigorous  efforts  for  its  support,  urging  the  duty  of  the  clergy  to  con- 
tribute more  largely  to  its  literary  support,  and  the  third  that  political 
intelligence  should  be  omitted  in  the  civil  summary.  The  resolutions 
led  to  a  debate  upon  the  general  question  of  supporting  Church  periodi- 
cals and  commending  the  Chronicle}  This  paper  continued  until  1842 
in  several  forms  and  was  succeeded  by  The  Calendar. 

>  Pp.  194,  195,  Tke  C/irom'c/e,  1837. 


Note  XLII 


The  Society  was  organized  in  1818,  reorganized  in  1837,  and  had 
charge  of  the  mission  work  of  the  Diocese.  With  a  changed  title  it 
still  cares  for  the  missionary  work.  Its  present  style  is  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut 

NOTICES   OF   UNRECORDED   MEETINGS   OF  THE  CONVENTION. 
[1800] 

The  Convocation  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  was  held  in  the  City  of  New 
London  on  the  15th  inst.  agreeably  to  the  order  of  the  Bishop.  Divine 
Service  was  performed  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Griswold,  a  discourse  and  charge 
to  the  clergy  was  delivered  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Abraham  Jarvis,  from  whom 
the  Apostolic  rite  of  Confirmation  was  received  by  nearly  fifty.  The  day 
following  the  Rev.  Evan  Rogers,  was  ordained  a  Priest,  and  is  soon  to 
be  inducted  Rector  of  the  Church  in  Hebron. 

It  appears  from  the  statement  of  the  Clergy  to  the  Bishop,  that  the 
Church  in  this  State  is  generally  flourishing  and  respectable.^ 

[1827] 

In  consonance  with  the  ancient  custom  of  the  diocese,  the  semi-annual 
Convocation  of  the  clergy  of  Connecticut  was  held  in  Christ  Church, 
Stratford,  on  Tuesday,  Nov.  6,  as  appointed  by  the  Bishop.  The 
evening  service  was  performed  by  the  Rev.  Ambrose  S.  Todd,  Rector 
of  St.  John's  Church,  Stamford,  and  the  sermon  preached  by  the  Rev. 
Professor  Doane,  of  Washington  College,  from  r  Peter,  v.  2,  3,  4.  In 
the  absence  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Convention,  the  Rev.  Professor 
Doane  was  appointed  Secretary.  The  attendance  of  the  Clergy,  though 
very  respectable,  was  not  as  large  as  on  some  former  occasions — a  cir- 
cumstance always  to  be  regretted,  as  the  opportunities  thus  afforded  of 
mutual  encouragement  and  advice  is  eminently  valuable.  The  Con- 
vocation, in  addition  to  the  usual  business  transacted  at  such  meetings, 
giving  information  as  to  the  state  of  the  several  parishes,  making  pro- 
vision for  the  supply  of  such  as  are  vacant,  consulting  together  on 
questions  of  discipline  and  order,  &c.,  &c.,  united  in  a  suitable  tribute 
of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  late  lamented  Bishop  of  Maryland. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bulkley  of  New  York 
were  present  as  visitors. 

We  avail  ourselves  of  this  opportunity  to  record  our  decided  and 
earnest  approbation  of  the  practice  peculiar,  we  believe,  to  our  own 
diocese,  of  periodical  assemblies  of  the  clergy. 

'^  American  Mercury.  Published  by  Elisha  Babcock.  [Vol.  xvii],  Thursday,  October 
23,  1800.     [No.  851.] 


— 196 — 

The  best  possible  opportunity  is  thus  afforded  for  giving  such  informa- 
tion as  will  enable  the  Episcopal  head  to  set  in  order  such  things  as  are 
wanting,  while  the  members,  besides  being  strengthened  in  their 
Master's  work,  by  the  interchange  of  free  and  friendly  advice  and 
encouragement,  are  thus  more  closely  bound  together  in  unity  of  spirit, 
of  doctrine  and  of  practice.  Behold,  saith  the  Psalmist,  and  God 
grant  that  our  diocese  may  always  continue  to  be,  as  it  has  always 
been,  an  apt  illustration  of  its  truth  and  beauty,  behold  how  good  and 
how  pleasant  it  is  for  brothers  to  dwell  together  in  unity/ 

The  clergy  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Diocese  of 
Connecticut,  assembled  in  Convocation  at  Stratford  on  Tuesday, 
November  6,  unanimously  adopted  the  following  Preamble  and  Reso- 
lutions 

Whereas  the  Convocation  have  heard  with  deep  and  unfeigned  regret 
of  the  late  melancholy  decease  of  that  distinguished  and  faithful  servant 
of  God,  the  Rt.  Rev.  James  Kemp,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  Diocese  of  Maryland.  Therefore  Resolved, 
that  this  Convocation  do  heartily  sympathize  with  their  brethren,  the 
Clergy  and  laity  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Diocese  of 
Maryland,  in  the  late  afflictive  dispensation  of  Divine  Providence  by 
which  that  Diocese  has  been  deprived  of  its  venerated  head  and  the 
Church  of  its  brightest  ornaments  and  firmest  and  most  able  supporters; 
and  that  they  do  most  devoutly  offer  up  their  prayers  that  the  Great 
Head  of  the  Church  will,  in  His  mercy,  visit  this  sorrowing  portion  of 
His  household  with  the  spirit  of  peace  and  consolation,  of  wisdom  and 
ghostly  Counsel,  that  they  may  be  sustained  and  comforted  in  their 
present  bereavement,  and  that  a  successor  apt  and  meet,  under  God,  and 
with  his  heavenly  blessing,  to  promote  its  interests  and  build  it  up  in 
peace  and  holiness,  and  all  spiritual  grace  and  blessedness,  may  speedily 
be  raised  up. 

Resolved  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Convocation  transmit  this  preamble 
and  these  resolutions  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Standing  Committee  of  the 
Diocese  of  Maryland,  and  cause  a  copy  of  the  same  to  be  inserted  in 

The  Episcopal  Watchman. 

G.  W.  Doane, 
Secretary 
Hartford, 
Nov.  6,  1827^ 

'  P.  370,  Episcopal  Watchman,  Nov.  12,  1827. 

2  Episcopal  IValcAmau,  p.  371.     Hartford,  Nov.  12,  1827.  Vol.  i,  No.  34. 


Index 


INDKX. 


Titles  and  degrees  are  given  to  clergymen  and  others  acquired  sub- 
sequently to  events  mentioned  in  these  "Records." 


A. 

Aberdeen,  Scotland  21,  124 

Adams,  the  Rev.  Jasper,  D.D 112 

Hon.  John  53,  182 

Richard    191 

Addison,  the  Rev.  Daniel  D.,  D.D. 

Life  and  Times  of  Edward  Bass  15 

Address  of  the  Connecticut  Clergy,  1785 12 

Alabama    I93 

Albany,  N.  Y 169 

American  Church  3,  163,  185 

Amity,  Conn 140,  148 

Andrews,  the  Rev.  George  B 96,  97,  102,  108 

Robert   161 

the  Rev.  Samuel   8,  138,  168 

the  Rev.  William  G.,  D.D 

A  History  of  Christ  Episcopal  Church  in  Guilford, 

Connecticut   187 

Apthorp,  the  Rev.  East,  D.D I54 

Archives, 

Diocese  of  Connecticut 9 

Commission  on   3>  4 

Arianism    19 

Arlington,  Vt 168 

Armor,  the  Rev.  Samuel  17 

Arnold,  the  Rev.  Jonathan  6 

Articles  of  Confederation  of  the  United  States  20 

Articles  of  Religion,  proposed  revision  of 43)  53 

Athanasian  Creed  163 

Atkins,  Dudley  I5 

Attwater,  the  Rev.  Henry  S 114 

14 


-200 


B. 


Badger,  the  Rev.  Moses 142 

Baldwin,  the  Rev.  Ashbel, 

sketch  of  133-135 

mentioned    22,  23,  33,  39,  40,  41, 43,  46, 48,  49, 

50,  51,  52,  53,  55.  56,  57,  58,  59, 60, 
61,62,63,64,65,70,71,74,75,76, 
y7,  78,  79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 88, 
89,90,91,92,93,95,96,  100,  102, 
106, 112, 118, 132, 168, 183, 185 
the  Rev.  David, 

sketch  of  187 

mentioned    76,  78,  79, 80,  81, 82,  85, 86,  88, 90, 

91,92,93,94,96,97,99,  100,  102, 
106,  112,  114,  118 

Ebenezer    41 

Isaac  133 

Baldwin  and  Treadway I94 

Ballston,  N.  Y 184 

Barber,  the  Rev.  Daniel 168 

the  Rev.  Virgil  H 64,  71,  1^^  74,  78,  80,  81,  82,  85,  86,  88,  89 

Barlow,  the  Rev.  William 105,  112,  118,  119,  192 

Considerations  on  the  Employment  of  the  Press. ..  .  192 

Bartlet,  Jonathan  49 

Basfield,  Mr 55 

Bass,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Edward,  D.D ; 15,  25,  26,  28,  126,  127 

Batchelder,  the  Rev.  Charles  R. 

The    Documentary    History    of    the    Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  Diocese  of  Vermont  168 

Beach,  the  Rev.  Abraham,  D.D 78,  167,  184 

the  Rev.  John 6,  9,  135,  144,  145,  152 

the  Rev.  Stephen 102,  116,  118 

Beardsley,  the  Rev.  Eben  Edwards,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

mentioned  3,  6,  10,  12,  188,  190,  191 

History  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Connecticut 

3,  6,  7,  149,  188,  190 
Life  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury    3,  11,  12,  21,  22, 23, 24 

History  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Cheshire 138 

Historical  Address,  Trinity  College 191 

the  Rev.  John  129 

Beasley,  the  Rev.  Frederic,  D.D 126 

Beckwith,  the  Rev.  George  I44 

Beers,  Isaac  ^7^ 

Belden,  the  Rev.  David 44,  46,  50,  92,  135,  152 

Thomas 4i 

Bend,  the  Rev.  Joseph  G.  J.,  D.D I59 


20I 

Benham,  the  Rev.  Benjamin 77,  78,  8i,  85,  86,  88,  89,  90,  92, 

93,  95.  96,  102,  103 

Bennington  County,  Vt 128 

Berkshire  County,  Mass ^74 

Berlin,  Conn 167 

BiORENj  John, 

Reprint — Journal  of  the  General  Convention  166, 186 

BiSHOPj  Mr.  Alexander  65, 60 

Blakeslee,  Abraham ' ^40 

the  Rev.  Edward, 

sketch  of 146-148 

mentioned  33,  34,  4°,  42,  43,  44,  45,  46,  48, 

49,  50,  SI,  ^2>7,  169,  184 
the  Rev.  Solomon, 

sketch  of  148-150 

mentioned 33,  40,  43,  46,  48,  49,  5i,  56,  57,  60, 

71,  80,  81,  92,  95,  164,  169,  184,  190 

Zophar  ^48 

BoARDMAN,  Hon.  Elijah  99,  I9i 

Boston,  Mass 7,  12,  14,  15,  I79 

BosTWicK,  Esther    ^27 

the  Rev.  Gideon, 

sketch  of  127, 128 

mentioned 8,  9,  33,  34,  39,  43,  168,  174, 

Harry    47,50 

Captain  Nathaniel  127 

BowDEN,  the  Rev.  John,  D.D 29,  40,  41,  42,  43,  46,  48,  50, 

52,  53,  54,  55,  137,  130,  131, 
142,  159 

Bradley,  the  Rev.  Charles  William "4 

the  Rev.  Ezra  56, 62 

Mr 49 

Bradleyville,  Conn ^"^ 

Branford,  Conn 42,  125,  184 

Brewer,  the  Rev.  Alfred  L.,  D.D 156 

Bridgeport,  Conn ^32, 135 

Bristol,  Conn 49, 131 

Bronson,  the  Rev.  Abraham,  D.D 59, 78 

the  Rev.  Tillotson,  D.D 22,  34,  40,  41,  42,  43,  44.  45, 

46,  48,  49,  50,  51,  53,  55,  57. 
58,  59,  60,  61,  62,  63,  64,  65, 
66,  67,  70,  71,  72,  74,  75,  78, 
80,  81,  83,  84,  8s,  86,  87,  88, 
89,  90,  91,  92,  93,  95,  96,  97, 
98,  99,  100,  loi,  102,  103, 
107,  109,  135,  137,  139,  141, 
146 
Brooklyn  Ferry,  N.  Y ^^^ 


— 202 — 

Brownell,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  C,  D.D.,  LL.D 96,  97,  98,  99,  100, 

loi,  102,  103,  104, 

105,    106,    no,    III, 

112,  116,  117,  118, 
133,  146,  151,  192, 

193 

The  Family  Prayer  Book 171 

Southwestern  Missionary  tour  113,  114,  193 

Brown  University   v I79 

Bruce,  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  F 106 

Buckley  [Bulkely],  the  Rev.  Barzillai 64,  65,  75,  94,  I95 

the  Rev.  Wm.  J 92,  94,  99 

Buel,  Hon.  David  170 

the  Rev.  Samuel,  D.D I75 

Bull,  John  .      183 

BuRHANS,  the  Rev.  Daniel,  D.D. 

sketch  of 173-175 

account  of  his  examination  for  Orders 173 

mentioned 9,  44-  45.  53,  55,  56,  59,  60,  61,  62, 

63,  64,  65,  66,  67,  70,  72,  75,  76, 
77,  78,  80,  81,  82,  83,  84,  86,  90, 
91,  92,  93,  94,  95,  96,  97,  98,  100, 
102,  103,  105,  106,  III,  112,  114, 
118,  128,  185 
The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  the  Election  of  Jacob 

and  the  Rejection  of  Esau i75 

Henry I73 

BuRGis  [Burgess],  the  Rev.  Nathan  B 64 

Burgess,  the  Rev.  Nathan  B 55,  57,  61,  63,  75,  78,  80,  95,  96,  103,  114 

Burgoyne,  General  John  I33 

BuRHAM  [Benham],  the  Rev.  Benjamin 76 

Burr,  William 183 

Burton,  the  Rev.  Daniel,  D.D 156 

Butler,  the  Rev.  David,  D.D. 

sketch   of    168-170 

mentioned  42,  43,  44,  48,  49,  5°,  51,  53,  55,  56, 

59,  60,  61,  147,  149 
the  Rev.  Clement  M.,  D.D 170 

C. 

Calendar,   The  3, 146,  i94 

Cambridge,  Conn 178 

Camp,  the  Rev.  Ichabod 126 

Mr 55 

Canaan    47, 58 

Caner,  the  Rev.  Henry,  D.D I44,  152,  I54 

Canterbury,  Archbishop  of 5.  10,  12,  165 


—203— 

Carr,  the  Rev.  Dr 155 

Catlin,  the  Rev.  Russell, 

sketch  of 168 

mentioned 42,  43,  44,  147,  149,  169 

Champion,  the  Rev.  Judah  151 

Chandler,  the  Rev.  Tliomas  B.,  D.D 123, 125 

Chapman,  Asa  191 

Chapin,  the  Rev.  Alonzo  B.,  D.D 3,  116,  146,  194 

Sketches  of  the  Early  Clergy  146 

The  Chronicle  of  the  Church 194 

Chase,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Philander,  D.D 84,  86,  88,  89,  90,  93,  I5S,  169,  189 

Chatham,  Conn 141, 178 

Chenango  County,  N.  Y 150 

Cheshire,  Conn 71,  97,  100,  112,  138 

Chew^stown,  Conn 60 

Child,  the  Rev.  Caleb, 

sketch  of 177 

mentioned  48,  52 

degradation  of 58 

Chittenden,  the  Rev.  Bethuel  62, 139 

Captain   55 

Christian  Knowledge  Society,  The   I95 

Christian  Journal,  The  192 

CHURCHES. 

Connecticut — Christ,  Bethany   140 

Christ,  Bethlehem  i75 

Trinity,  Branford 59,  129,  130,  146,  178,  184 

St.  John's,  Bridgeport  132,  I55 

St.  Matthew's,  Bristol  49 

Trinity,  Brooklyn   IS4 

Trinity,   Chatham    178 

St.  Peter's,  Cheshire 62,  100,  no,  137 

Christ,  Derby  I37 

St.  James's,  Derby S^ 

Christ,  East  Haven 59 

St.  Stephen's,  East  Haddam 41,  I49,  150 

St.  Matthew's,  East  Plymouth 178 

Trinity,  Fairfield  131, 132 

Christ,  Hartford   56,183 

consecration  of 5" 

St.  Mark's,  Harwinton   49, 178 

St.  Peter's,  Hebron  141 

St.  Paul's,  Huntington 43,  81,  131,  142,  158,  167,  176 

Union  Church,  Killingworth  79,  187 

St.  Michael's,  Litchfield i34,  I45,  I5i,  169,  179 

Christ,  Middle  Haddam  141, 178 


— 204 — 

Connecticut — Christ,  Middletown 9,  11,  12,  112,  125,  126,  147,  149, 

168,  169 

St.  Peter's,  Milford 142 

St.  Paul's  Chapel,  New  Haven 116 

St.  Paul's  Church,  New  Haven 117 

Trinity,  New  Haven 16,  17,  40,  41,  45,  79,  108,  125, 

126,  132,  134,  143,  174 
St.  James's,  New  London.  ..  .22,  123,  137,  139,  141,  150,  176 

St.  John's,  New  Milford 127, 145 

Trinity,  Newtown  35,  I3S,  I37,  I74 

Zion  Church,  North  Branford  187 

St.  Peter's,  Northbury  139,  140,  I7S 

St.  John's,  Northford 184 

Trinity,  Northfield   178 

St.  John's,  North  Guilford 79,  130,  134,  146,  169,  178 

St.  John's,  North  Haven  23,  134,  146 

St.  Paul's,  Norwalk 24,  58,  144,  157,  iS9 

Christ,  Norwich  141, 156 

St.  Peter's,  Oxford I34,  MO 

St.  Peter's,  Plymouth 81,  1 12 

Trinity,  Portland 141 

Christ,  Quaker  Farms  134,  I53 

Christ,  Redding  169 

St.  Stephen's,  Ridgefield  152 

Christ,   Roxbury    175 

St.  Michael's,  Salem 140,  164 

St.  John's,  Salisbury   5^)  53 

Trinity,  Seymour 147 

Union,  Seymour  147 

St.  Andrew's,  Simsbury 157, 178 

St.  John's,  Stamford 58,  134,  136,  157,  158,  195 

■     Christ,  Stratford 40,  48,  130,  131,  134,  135,  142, 

155,  177,  178,  195 

Christ,  Tashua  I34>  142 

St.  Paul's,  Wallingford  59,  I34,  184 

Christ,  West  Haven 53,  125,  182 

Christ,  Wethersfield   54 

St.  Paul's,  Woodbury 131,  164,  175 

England — Royal  Chapel  of  St.  James,  Westminster 125,  126,  128 

Parish  Church  of  St.  James,  Westminster 125,  126,  128 

Maryland — St.  John's,  Baltimore   I45 

Massachusetts — King's   Chapel,  Boston    7,  ^54 

Trinity,  Boston    10, 23 

Christ,  Cambridge  IS4 

St.  Paul's,  Dedham 9 

St.  James,  Great  Barrington 128,  150,  177 

St.  Luke's,  Lanesborough  174 

Trinity,  Lenox   128 


—SOS- 
Massachusetts — St.  Paul's,  Newburyport  25 

St.  Peter's,  Salem I79 

New  York— St.  Peter's,  Albany  158,  169 

St.  Ann's,  Brooklyn   129,  144 

Trinity,  Fishkill  142 

St.  George's,  Flushing I43 

St.  George's,  Hempstead  167 

Christ,  Hudson  128 

Grace,  Jamaica 123,  129,  176 

Christ,  Manhansett  167 

St.  James's,  Newtown  I43 

Christ,   Poughkeepsie   142 

Christ,  Rye   5,159 

Grace,  Rye 141 

Caroline,    Setauket    176 

St.  Andrew's,  Staten  Island  .» 123 

St.   Paul's,  Troy    169 

St.  George's  Chapel,  New  York  City 169 

Trinity,  New  York  City 11,  129,  158,  167,  184,  188 

St.  Peter's,  Westchester  123 

New  Jersey — Trinity,  Newark   158 

Christ,  New  Brunswick   123 

St.  Peter's,  Perth  Amboy 158 

Pennsylvania — Christ,  Philadelphia  26,  160 

Rhode  Island — King's  Chapel,  Providence 142 

St.  Michael's,  Bristol  I43,  i79 

Trinity,  Newport   129 

Scotland — Bishop  Skinner's  Chapel,  Long  Acre,  Aberdeen 124 

Churchman,  The 192 

Churchman's  Magazine,  The  11,  61,  62,  63,  75,  76,  77,  loi,  107, 

108,  158,  18s,  186,  192 

Church,  Horace    ^83 

Claggett,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  J.,  D.D 75,  126,  189 

Claremont,  N.  H m8 

Clarke,  the  Rev.  Abraham  L., 

sketch  of  •. 142,  143 

mentioned 2Z,  34,  38,  40,  41,  42,  48,  141,  I57 

the  Rev.  Peter  G 96,  100,  103,  106,  112,  114 

the  Rev.  Richard  S I34.  I45,  169 

the  Rev.  William   9 

Clark,  Ebenezer ^83 

James   59 

the  Rev.  Joseph  P ii4 

Thaddeus   182 

CoiT,  the  Rev.  Thomas  W.,  D.D.,  LL.D 118 

CoKESBURY  College   ^44 

Colchester,  Conn ^4i 


— ^2o6 

Coleman,  Dr.  Noah 42 

College  of  Philadelphia  129 

Columbia  College,  New  York  City 144, 165 

Columbia  Count3%  N.  Y 128 

Commissary  requested   7 

CoNcoRDATE  with  the  Bishops  in  Scotland 17 

Connecticut,  Diocese  of,  see  Diocese  of  Connecticut, 

Church  Documents 6,  7,  16,  22,  24,  26,  27,  28 

General  Assembly  of  172, 190 

State  Capitol  of 191 

mentioned 3,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  20,  160,  162,  163 

Connecticut  Courant,  The 7, 8,  183 

Connecticut  Journal,  The 39, 166 

Convocation, 

term  defined  as  used  in  England 12 

powers  and  duties  in  England 13 

Convocation  of  the  Clergy  of  Connecticut  12 

convoked  by  the  Bishop 12 

powers  and  duties   13 

list  of  early  meetings  30 

Records  of  33-120 

mentioned,  see  Records  of  Convocation. 
Action  of,  on 

Constitution  and  Canons  of  the  American  Church  34,  35 

Prayer  Book  of  1789 37,  39 

College  of  Doctors    37>  39 

Articles  of  Religion 43,  S3 

Candidates  for  Holy  Orders 38 

Office  of  Induction  54 

Requirements  for  election  of  a  Bishop 88,  89,  90,  91 

establishment  .of  a  College   99 

proposed  Society  for  decayed  Clergymen  96,  97 

proposed  Society  for  relief  of  the  widows  and 

orphans  of  Clergymen 105,  III,  114,  190 

Sunday  Schools  107,  109,  1 19 

Christian  Knowledge  Society 105,  112,  116,  117,  119 

proposed  new  Church  periodical  108 

mentioned   135,  137 

Cooper,  James  Fenimore   150 

the  Rev.  Myles,  LL.D 155 

Cornwall,  the  Rev.  Asa  64,  74,  75,  76,  77,  80,  85,  86,  88,  89,  90, 

92,  93,  96,  97,  99,  100,  102,  106,  112 

CossiT,  the  Rev.  Ranna  148 

Cranson  [Cranston],  the  Rev.  William 94 

Croswell,  the  Rev.  Harry,  D.D 92,  94,  95,  96,  97,  99,  100,  loi, 

103,    106,    108,    III,    112,    114, 
115,  116,  118,  119,  191 

Cruse,  the  Rev.  Christian  F 112 

Cushman,  Elisha 191 


— 207 — 

D. 

Danbury,  Conn 40,  48,  49,  59,  153,  184 

Dartmouth  College   141 

Davies,  the  Rev.  Tliomas  127, 134 

Dedham,  Mass 9 

Degrees  in  Divinity 165 

Deism   19 

DeLancey,  Col.  Oliver 129 

Dexter,  Professor  Franklin  B 17 

Dibblee,  the  Rev.  Ebenezer,  D.D 37,  41.  165 

DiGBY,  Admiral  124 

DiGBY,  Nova  Scotia  157,  178 

Diocese  of  Connecticut, 

Bishop's  Fund  of   172 

Candidates  for  Orders  in 71 

Constitution  of 45 

Article  III  of  Constitution  of 189 

Standing  Committee  of 51,  133,  146,  165,  184,  190 

Trustees  for  receiving  Donations 172 

mentioned   38 

Diocese  of  New  Hampshire  168 

Diocese  of  New  Jersey 158 

Diocese  of  New  York, 

Aged  and  Infirm  Clergy  Fund  of 176 

Office  of  Induction  in  182 

Standing  Committee  of  184 

Doane,  the  Rt.  Rev.  George  W.,  D.D 100,  103,  106,  190,  195,  196 

Doctors,  College  of 37,  39 

Documentary  History  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 

Connecticut   6 

Domestic  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society 192 

Dudley,  Joshua    60 

Duncan,  the  Rev. ^  64 

Durham,  Conn 184 

E. 

Eastburn,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Manton,  D.D I79 

Eastern  Churches  161 

East  Haddam,  Conn 40 

East  Haven,  Conn 184 

Edinburgh,  Scotland   123 

Ellison,  the  Rev.  Thomas  169 

England  I54,  158,  160 

Church  of 5,  35,  36,  I54 

Episcopal  Academy,  Cheshire,  Conn. 

discussion  of   no 

1  This  entry  on  the    "Records"    is  evidently  a  mistake  of  the  Secretary  and  should 
be:    Blackburn,  the  Rev.  John  Lynn. 


— 208— 

Episcopal  Academy,  Cheshire,  Conn. 

petition  to  erect  into  a  college 84 

inquiry  requested   98 

mentioned 25,  41,  51,  62,  112,  127,  135,  138,  185 

Episcopal  Watchman,  The 196 

Exeter,  Conn 42 

England    125,  126 

F. 

Fairfax,  the  Rev.  Bryan 142 

Fairfield,  Conn 6,  7,  8,  130,  131 

County  152 

Fanning,  Col.  Edmund 124,  158,  160 

Ferguson,  the  Rev.  Colin,  D.D 132 

First  Ecclesiastical  Society,  Litchfield,  Conn 151 

FiSHKiLL,  N.  Y 129 

Florida    144 

Fogg,  the  Rev.  Daniel, 

sketch  of  154,  155 

mentioned  10,  35,  55,  173 

the  Rev.  Jeremiah   154 

FooTE,  the  Rev.  David, 

sketch  of   141,  142 

mentioned 23,  33,  34,  41,  164 

Nathaniel   141 

Fredericksburgh   Precinct    129 

French  and  Indian  War 183 

FuLHAM,  London,  England, 

Chapel    150 

Palace   123 

Fundamental  Principles  19 

G. 

•  Garfield,  the  Rev.  John  M 99,  103,  106 

Gear,  [Geer],  the  Rev.  Alpheus 92,  94,  96,  97,  100,  103,  112,  114,  118 

General  Convention,  the. 

Adjourned  session,  1789 160 

Amendment  of  Constitution  161 

Assent  of  the  New  England  deputies 162 

Canon  VL   1789 38,  166 

Constitution  and  Canons  of  34,  186 

Digest  of  Canons,  1901  166 

House  of  Bishops  formed  162 

mentioned   68, 69,  73 

Office  of  Induction 182 

Office  of  Institution 182 

mentioned  19,  24,  26,  27,  38,  40,  67,  135,  137, 

144,  146,  175,  176 


209 — 

General  Education  Society  no 

General  Sunday  School  Union  no 

Gibson,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Edmund,  D.D 7 

Gilbert,  the  Rev.  Sturgis 8i,  88,  90,  92,  95,  96,  loi,  102,  103 

de  la  Poxtree  165 

Granby,  Conn 158 

Great  Barrington,  Mass 47. 127 

Great  Hill,  Conn 148 

Green,  T.  and  T , 42 

the  Rev.  William  49,  50,  51 

Greenwich,  Conn * 6 

Gregson,  William 6 

Glebe    6 

Griswold,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Alexander  Viets,  D.D., 

sketch  of   178,  179 

consecration  of I79 

Presiding  Bishop I79 

mentioned 46,  48,  49,  50,  53,  55,  56,  57,  58,  60, 

76,  158,  177,  195 

Elisha    178 

Eunice    (Viets)    178 

the  Rev.  Samuel   60, 61, 64 

Guilbert,  the  Rev.  Edmund,  D.D., 

Annals  of  an  Old  Parish 132 

Guilford,  Conn 78,  94,  124,  155,  187 

GuNN,  Jobannah  164 

H. 

Hall,  Prof.  Frederick   191 

Hall  and  Sellers  163,  170 

Hallam,  the  Rev.  Robert  A.,  D.D., 

Annals  of  St.  James's  Church,  New  London 150, 176 

Hammell,  the  Rev.  William I43 

Hanmer,  and  Co I9I 

Harison,  Hon.  Richard  161 

Hart,  the  Rev.  Seth, 

sketch  of  167 

mentioned 40,  41,  43,  44,  45,  46,  48,  49,  53,  54,  57,  164 

the  Rev.  Samuel,  D.D.,  D.C.L., 

The  Seabury  Centenary  10 

The  Election  of  Bishop  Seabury 10 

Convention  Sermon,  1896  10 

Bishop  Seabury's  Communion  Office  14, 180 

Report    of    the    Custodian    of    the    Standard    Prayer 

Book,  1898   171 

Hartford,  Conn 55,  84,  100,  no,  116,  126,  189,  191,  193,  196 

Hartland,  Vt 168 

Harvard  College   ^43,  ^54 

University    179 


— ^210 — 

Harwinton,  Conn 49,  168,  178 

Harwood,  the  Rev.  Edwin,  D.D., 

The  Beginning  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  New 

Haven   6 

HawkSj  the  Rev.  Francis  L.,  D.D 6 

Hawley,  Isaac 65, 66 

Heath,  the  Rev.  Levi 144 

Hebron,  Conn 7,  42,  45,  46,  48,  141,  148 

Hempstead,  N.  Y 123 

Henry  HI,  of  England 165 

VHI,  of  England  165 

Herron,  Wm 172 

Herschel,  Mr 42 

HiCKOK,  Prof.  Horatio 191 

HiLLiAR  [Hilliard],  the  Rev.  Timothy  64 

HoADLEY,  George  E 7 

HoBART,  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  Henry,  D.D 65,  75,  94,  140,  147,  167, 

179,  186,  188,  190 

HoLCOMB,  the  Rev.  Frederick,  D.D 85,  86,  88,  90,  91,  92,  95,  96, 

97,  98,  100,  103, 106, 112, 118 

the  Rev.  Origen  P.,  D.D 96,  97,  99,  103,  118 

Holly  [Hawley],  Isaac  66 

Holmes,  the  Rev.  Abiel,  D.D 17 

Hopkinson,  Hon.  Francis 27 

Hopkinston,  Mass.   ? 7 

Horse  Neck,  Conn 6 

Howell,  the  Rev.  Orson  V 106 

Hubbard,  the  Rev.  Bela,  D.D., 

sketch  of   124,  125 

mentioned 7,  8,  9,  12,  29,  33,  34,  2>7,  38,  39,  40,  41, 

42,  43,  49,  50,  SI,  52,  53,  55,  57,  59,  60, 
61,  62,  64,  65,  70,  71,  75,  77,  80,  81,  82, 
83,  84,  146,  155,  160,  162,  16s,  172,  173 

Daniel    124 

Diana    (Ward)    .' 124 

the  Rev.  Reuben 81,  86,  88,  89,  90,  91,  92,  95 

Hudson   River    151 

Hull,  the  Rev.  Ambrose, 

sketch  of   143, 144 

mentioned  2Z,  34,  38,  118,  142,  157 

the  Rev.  Lemuel  B 100,  103,  106,  112,  114,  115 

Humphrey,  the  Rev.  Aaron 92,  94, 95 

the  Rev.  Prof.  Hector,  D.D 103,  106,  112,  114,  115,  191 

Humphreyille 147 

Humphry  [Humphrey],  the  Rev.  Aaron 91 

Huntington,  Conn 42 

Long  Island,  N.  Y 123 

the  Hon.  Samuel   18 

HusE,  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  85, 90, 92 


— 211 — 

I. 

Imlay,  William    183 

Ingersoll,  the  Hon.  Jonathan 39, 41,  172 

Ives,  the  Rev.  Edward  J 100,  102,  103 

the  Rev.  Reuben, 

sketch  of  137-139 

mentioned  33,  34,  38,  41,  42,  43,  44,  45,  46,  48,  49, 

50,  51.  52,  53,  57,  60,  61,  62,  63,  64,  71, 
72,  74,  78,  79,  84,  86,  89,  92,  93,  96,  97, 
99,  103,  112,  135,  146 
Zachariah    ^37 

J. 

Jarvis,  the  Right  Rev.  Abraham,  D.D., 

sketch  of   .^ 125-127 

mentioned 8,  9,  11,  12,  14,  16,  17,  29,  33,  37,  41, 

43,  44,  46,  50,  52,  53,  54,  55,  56,  57, 
58,  59,  60,  61,  62,  63,  64,  65,  66,  69, 
71,  72,  73,  74,  75,  76,  77,  80,  82,  84, 
91,  124,  149,  160,  162,  165,  i77i  184, 
186,  19s 

Registry  of  Ordinations   187 

Naomi    (Brush)     125 

Capt.   Samuel    125 

the  Rev.  Samuel  Farmar,  D.D 81, 1 18,  127 

A  Voice  from  Connecticut 163 

the  Rev.  William 100,  103.  106,  112,  114,  118 

John,  King  of  England 165 

Johnson,  the  Rev.  Samuel,  D.D 6,  7,  124,  125,  144,  152,  155 

Hon.  Samuel  William  172, 191 

Capt.  Timothy  78 

the  Rev.  118 

Jones,  the  Rev.  Cave 188 

the  Rev.  Isaac,  D.D 85,  86,  90,  92,  94,  96,  102,  103,  106,  145 

the  Rev.  Jasper  D 53,  55,  57,  90,  92,  95,  97 

JuDAH,  the  Rev.  Henry  R 99, 103 

JuDD,  the  Rev.  Bethel,  D.D 53,  55,  77,  83,  84,  86,  88,  89,  90, 

91,  92,  103,  105,  118,  119 
the  Rev.  Jonathan 72,  86,  89,  91,  92,  93,  95,  96 

K. 

Keeler,  the  Rev.  James  no,  112 

Kemp,  the  Rt.  Rev.  James,  D.D 196 

Kensington,  N.  H ^54 

Keppel,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Frederick,  D.  D 125, 126 

Kewley,  the  Rev.  John,  M.D 77,  78 

KiLBOURN,  the  Rev.  James  57,  ^44 


— 212 — 

KiLGouR,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Robert,  D.D 124 

KiLLiNGWORTH,  Conn 169 

KiNGj  the  Rev. 46 

King's  College,  N.  Y 124,  155,  158 

Kingston^  N.  B 

KiRBY,  Col.  Ephraim 172, 184 

Kneeland^  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  8 

L. 

Lambeth  degree  165 

England 26 

Landaff  [Llandaff],  Bishop  of,  thanked 50 

Lanesborough,  Mass 44,  128,  174 

Lansingburgh,  N.  Y 170 

Lawson  [Lamson],  the  Rev.  Joseph  152 

Lay  Delegates,  Convention  of 25 

Leaming,  the  Rev.  Jeremiah,  D.D 7,  8,  10,  11,  12,  17,  21,  24, 

52,  130,  13s,  143,  146 

Lebanon^  Conn 42 

Lebanon  Springs,  N.  Y 174 

Leeds,  Carey 65,  66,  67,  70 

Lenox^  Mass 174 

Litchfield,  Conn 33,  61,  125,  133,  134,  145,  187 

London,  England  155 

Bishop  of  5,  123,  154,  15s 

Long  Acre,  Aberdeen,  Scotland 124 

Long  Island  123 

Sound 169 

Louisiana    193 

Lucas,  the  Rev.  William   145 

Lyttleton,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Charles,  D.D » 125, 126 

M. 

Macdonough,  Commodore  Thomas  191 

Magaw,  the  Rev.  Samuel,  D.D 27 

MalbonEj  Evan 172 

Col.  Godfrey  154,  156 

Manchester,  the  Rev.  Dr.  L.  C 171 

Mansfield,  the  Rev.  Richard,  D.D 7,  17,  21,  34,  37,  38,  39,  41, 

42,  43,  45,  46,  48,  50,  51,  52, 
53,  54,  57,  58,  59,  60,  ^2,  80, 
84,  90,  92,  96,  97,  98,  102, 
103,  106,  118,  119,  146,  147, 
148,  149,  165,  168,  173,  175, 
%  184,  18s 

Markham,  the  Most  Rev.  William,  D.D 10 

Marlborough,  Conn 141 


—213— 

Marsh,  David  65 

the  Rev.  Truman, 

sketch  of  144, 146 

mentioned  33,  34,  39,  41.  43,  44,  45,  46,  48,  51, 

55,  56,  58,  61,  64,  72,  74,  75,  78,  80, 
84,  90,  92,  96,  97,  98,  102,  103,  106, 
118,  119,  14s,  151,  179 

Marshall,  the  Rev.  John  Rutgers 10  164 

R-  B '   38 

Maryland   132 

Massachusetts, 7,  9,  160,  162,  163 

Mason,  the  Rev.  Henry  M.,  D.D 100 

McCracken,  John  183 

McDonald,  the  Rev.  Daniel,  D.D 85,  86,  87,  88 

McGarvey,  the  Rev.  William, 

Litnrgiae  Americaiiae   163 

Merriam,  the  Rev.  Clement 6r,  62,  64,  71 

Meriden,  Conn 134 

Merwin,  Samuel    191 

Middletown,  Conn 11,  12,  14,  43,  64,  100,  114,  115,  125,  126,  161 

Middle  Haddam,  Conn 141 

Miles,  the  Rev.  Smith, 

sketch  of   177,  178 

mentioned  45,  46,  48,  49,  51,  64,  81,  84,  86,  88,  92, 

93,  95,  96,  97,  149,  184 

Mohawk  Indians  158 

Moore,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Benjamin,  D.D 11,  13,  14,  28,  68,  69,  75,  161 

the  Most  Rev.  John,  D.D 10 

the  Rt.  Rev.  Richard  C,  D.D 159 

the  Rev.  Wm.-H.,  D.D., 

History   of  St   George's   Church,   Hempstead,   Long 

Island  167 

Morris,  Conn 144 

Morgan,  John  84,  172,  183 

J.  Pierpont  171 

Munday,  widow  Sarah 65 

MuiRSON,  the  Rev.  George  159 

MuNSEY,  George  Burnham, 

Journals  of  the  first  twenty-eight  Conventions  of 

the  Diocese  of  New  Hampshire  168 

N. 

Narragansett,  R.  1 176 

Nash,  the  Rev.  Daniel  150 

Newark,  N.  J 158 

New  Brunswick,  N.  J 139 

Newburgh,  N.  Y 129 


214 — 

Newburyport,  Mass 154 

New  Concord,  N.  Y 128 

New  Hampshire,  Diocese  of 14,  25,  160,  168 

New  Haven,  Conn 6,  8,  14,  16,  29,  40,  41,  42,  50,  62,  82,  87, 

88,  93,  98,  100,  106,  116,  124,  13s,  194 

New  Lisbon,  N.  Y 150 

New  London,  Conn d,"],  10,  14,  22,  54,  139,  156,  175,  176,  195 

New  Milford,  Conn 7,  44,  127,  144 

New  Orleans,  La 193 

New  Preston,  Conn 145 

Newport,  R.  1 124, 142 

Newton,  the  Rev.  Christopher 8,  131,  142 

Newtown,  Conn 6,  34,  54,  72,  105,  118,  136,  137,  146,  177 

New  York 5,  6,  9,  21,  78,  124,  156,  175,  186,  192 

City  of 124,  175,  186,  192 

Diocese  of 176,  182,  184 

Nichols,  the  Rev.  James 134,  168 

the  Hon.  Philip  41 

Nisbett,  the  Rev.  Samuel,  M.D 23,  143 

Noble,  the  Rev.  Birdsey  G 95,  96,  97,  98,  99,  100,  103,  104,  105, 

ic6,  108,  109,  no,  118,  119,  191 

Nobles  [Noble],  the  Rev.  Birdsey  G 85,  86,  88,  89,  90,  91,  92,  94 

Nobletown,  N.  Y 128 

North  Bristol,  Conn 187 

North  Carolina   154 

Northfield,   Conn 178 

Northford,  Conn 184 

North  Groton,  Conn 6 

North  Guilford,  Conn 125,  187 

North  Haven,  Conn ..23,  138,  143,  146,  149 

North  Killingworth,  Conn 187 

North  Oxford,  Conn 140 

NoRWALK,  Conn 8,  "j"],  no,  144,  169 

Academy  in 

Norwich,  Conn 8,  75,  141,  156,  157 

Notitia  Parochialis 41 

Nova  Scotia 124, 138 

O. 

Office  of  Induction  54, 182 

Ogden,  the  Rev.  Uzal,  D.D 158,  162 

Ogilvie,  Catharine  (Symes)   158 

the  Rev.  George, 

sketch  of   158, 159 

mentioned 35,  37,  38,  40,  41,  42,  43,  44,  45,  46,  48,  49 

the  Rev.  John,  D.D 158 

Ohio 144 

River  193 


—215— 

Old  French  War  128 

Oliver,  the  Rev.  Thomas  F 17 

Onderdonk,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Benjamin  T.,  D.D 150 

OsBALDiSTON,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Richard,  D.D 123,  125,  126 

Otsego  County,  N.  Y 150 

Oxford,  Conn 175 

Oyster  River,  Conn 52 

P. 

Paddock,  the  Rev.  Seth  B 103 

Palmer,  the  Rev.  Solomon 127, 134 

Pardee,  the  Rev.  Amos 59, 61 

Parker,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel,  D.D 10,  11,  13,  14,  16,  21,  23,  25, 

26,  68,  160,  162 

Pauquatannok  [Poquetanuck],  Conn 46 

Peekskill,  N.  Y 129 

Pennsylvania  20,26, 163 

Perkins,  Elias  191 

Perry,  the  Rev.  David,  M.D., 

sketch  of 152, 153 

mentioned 34,  40,  44,  46,  47,  48,  49 

Grace  ( Sturgis )    152 

Joseph,  M.D 135 

the  Rev.  Joseph 57,  90,  94,  96,  99,  106 

Micah    152 

the  Rev.  Philo, 

sketch  of  13s,  137 

mentioned 33,  34,  37,  38,  41,  42,  43.  45,  46,  48, 

49,  50,  51,  174,  184 

Richard    152 

Ruth  (Preston)    I35 

the  Rt.  Rev.  William  S.,  D.D.,  LL.D 6 

Historical  Notes  and  Documents  16 

Peter  Lombard  165 

Peters,  John  Thompson   191 

Hon.  John  S I9i 

the  Rev.  Samuel,  LL.D 141,  148,  168 

Petrie,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Arthur,  D.D 124 

Philadelphia,  Penn 26,  28,  51,  52,  145,  193 

Phoebus,  John  H ^  ^5 

Chants  adapted   to   the  Service  of  the  Protestant 

Episcopal  Church  1 15,  I94 

Pittsburgh,  Penna ^93 

Plainfield,  N.  H 168 

Plumb,  the  Rev.  Elijah  G 76,  77,  79,  86,  88,  90,  91,  92,  93,  95 

Plymouth,  Conn 80,  81,  131,  I39 

PoMFRET,  Conn 155,  156 

Potter,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Horatio,  D.D.,  D.C.L 106,  1 12,  1 14 

William  T : i»8 

15 


— 2l6 — 
POUGHKEEPSIE,   N.    Y 129,  175 

Prayer  Book,  the, 

English  15 

American   19 

Proposed  Book  ! : . .       19, 162 

Changes  proposed 14,  15,  20,  162,  163 

Changes  adopted    163 

Use  of  39 

First  edition  of 162 

Early  editions  of  171 

Connecticut  edition  proposed  42, 161 

editions  issued  171 

Prindle^  Anna  (Scovill)   139 

the  Rev.  Chauncey, 

sketch  of 139, 141 

mentioned  33,  34,  2,T,  38,  40,  41,  42,  44,  45,  46, 

48,  49,  50,  SI,  52,  53,  55,  57,  58,  59, 
61,  62,  64,  65,  71,  ^2,  74,  80,  81,  84, 
86,  88,  90,  92,  93,  96,  118,  137,  146, 
164,  167 

Eleazar   139 

Propagation  Society,  the  venerable 5,  6,  123,  125,  126,  127,  128, 

130,  139,  156 

Protestant  Episcopal  Press,  the  192 

Providence,  R.  1 142 

Provoost,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel,  D.D 11,  20,  21,  127,  159,  162,  184 

Price,  the  Rev.  Roger 7 

Pyne,  the  Rev.  Smith,  D.D 114, 115 

PuNDERSON,  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  124 

Purdee  [Pardee],  the  Rev.  Amos  . 48 

R. 

Rattoone,  the  Rev.  Elijah  D.,  D.D 144 

Rayner,  the  Rev.  Menzies   ^T,  78,  81,  86,  88,  89,  90,  91,  92,  93, 

95,  96,  97,  98,  99,  102,  105,  183,  185 

Reading  [Redding],  Conn 40,  48,  49,  144 

Records  of  Convocation, 

mentioned 3,  123,  124,  127,  153,  165,  167,  175,  177,  178 

Redding  Ridge,  Conn 9, 136 

Revolution,  the  American 5,  9,  123,  125,  130,  154,  157,  175,  183 

Reyner  [Rayner],  the  Rev.  Menzies  ...  .56,  57,  61,  62,  63,  64,  71,  72,  75,  76 

Rhode  Island 12, 14 

Church  in 52 

Richmond,  the  Rev.  Wm 193 

Ridgefield,  Conn 40,  49,  152,  153 

RiPTON,  Conn 8,  131 

Rochester,  N.  Y i3S 


— 217 — 

Rogers,  the  Rev.  Ammi 56,  57,  59.  65,  66,  67,  7i,  75.  127 

suspension  of  with  sentence   62, 63 

degradation  of   63 

petition  of   93 

mentioned I49.  ISC  183.  184,  185,  186 

the  Rev.  Evan 55,  57.  65.  77 

RossiTER,  the  Rev.  Rodney 96,  97,  100,  103,  112,  114 

RoxBURY,  Conn I45 

Mass 124, 125 

Royal  American  Regiment  124,  158,  160 

RuDD,  the  Rev.  John  C,  D.D 91, 192 

Rutledge,  the  Rev.  Edward 106,  108,  1 1 1 

Rye,  N.  Y 5, 65 

S. 

Salem,  Conn 37. 167 

Mass 25 

Salisbury,  Conn 47 

Sandersfield  [Sandisfield],  Mass 47 

Sandgate,  Vt 168 

Sanford,  Thomas 183 

Saybrook    125 

Platform    .' 6 

Sayre,  the  Rev.  James, 

sketch  of  129, 131 

protest  of 35,  36 

Inhibition  of  45. 177 

mentioned   33,  34, 164 

the  Rev.  John  129 

Scotland 21,  123,  124,  129 

ScoviLL,  the  Rev.  James 8,  131,  139,  164 

Seabury,  Abigail  (Mumford)    123 

the  Rev.  Charles, 

sketch  of 175. 176 

mentioned 44,  45,  46,  48,  50,  51,  S3,  56,  58,  64, 

71,  75,  79,  84,  86,  88 

Mary   (Hicks)    175 

the  Rev.  Samuel 123,  126,  167,  176 

the  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel,  D.D., 

sketch  of   123,124 

Consecration  of  11 

first  ordination  of  12 

first  charge  of 12 

second  charge  of i9 

mitre  of   23 

burial  of IS6 

The  Communion  Office 18 

Collects  for  Courts  of  Justice 49,  180,  181 


— 2l8— 

Seaburv,  Registry  of  Ordinations 152,  167,  169,  177 

Letters  of  a  Westchester  Farmer 123 

mentioned 3,  10,  11,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17,  18,  19,  20, 

21,  22,  23,  25,  33,  35,  37,  38,  39,  40, 
41,  42,  43,  44,  45,  46,  48,  49,  52,  129, 
130,  132,  134,  136,  137,  139,  141,  142, 
143,  145,  152,  153,  157,  160,  161,  162, 
165,  168,  169,  174,  175,  177 

the  Rev.  Samuel,  D.D 176 

the  Rev.  William  J.,  D.D., 

The  Election  in  Order  to  Consecration  of  the  First 

Bishop  of  Connecticut  10 

mentioned 176,  180,  181 

Searle,  the  Rev.  Roger 64,  71,  72,  80,  81,  82,  85,  86,  87,  88, 

89,  90,  91,  92,  93,  95,  142 

Service,  form  of,  during  the  Revolution 9 

Setauket,  Long  Island  176 

Seymour,  Conn 147 

Shelton,  Daniel  131 

the  Rev.  George   106 

Hamilton   132 

the  Rev.  Philo, 

sketch  of    131-133 

mentioned 1 7,  33,  34,  38,  40,  41,  42,  43,  45,  46,  48, 

49,  50,  51,  52,  53,  54,  55,  56,  57,  58,  59, 
60,  61,  62,  63,  64,  65,  66,  70,  71,  72,  74, 
75,  77,  79,  80,  81,  83,  84,  8s,  86,  87,  88. 
89,  90,  91,  92, 93,  95,  96,  99,  100,  139,  153 

Mrs.  Philo  104, 133 

Samuel    131 

the  Rev.  William,  D.D 106,  131 

Sherlock,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas,  D.D 123 

Sherman,  Conn 173 

Sherwood,  John  132 

the  Rev.  Reuben,  D.D 92,  94,  95,  96,  99,  100,  103, 

106,  III,  114 

Shipman,  Elias 172 

SiGOURNEY,  Charles  99 

SiMSBURY,  Conn 8,  178 

Skinner,  the  Rt.  Rev.  John,  D.D 21, 23, 124 

Slafter,  the  Rev.  Edmund  F.,  D.D 9 

Smith,  the  Rev.  Charles  95, 96, 97 

Hon.   Nathan    99 

the  Rt.  Rev.  Robert,  D.D 126,  160,  161 

the  Rev.  William,  D.D 20,  23,  26,  27,  28,  161 

the  Rev.  William,  D.D.,  of  Connecticut 51,  52,  S3,  54,  58,  60, 

62,  63,  64,  71,  86,  88, 
91,  92,  93,  126 


— 219 — 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel, 
See  Propagation  Society. 

Somaster's  Library  87,  107,  188 

SoMERS,  the  Rev.  Daniel  96,  102 

South  Carolina  I44 

SouTHiNGTON,  Conn 134 

Spraggs,  the  Rev.  Samuel  17 

Sprague,  the  Rev.  Wm.  B.,  D.D., 

Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  V 7,  170,  175 

Stamford,  Conn 6,  22,  65,  66,  1 1 1 

Standing  Order 6,  123,  141,  155,  169 

Starr,  Jonathan  172 

State  Prayers  14,  17 

Steele,  the  Rev.  Ashbel  114 

Stevens,  the  Rev.  C.  Ellis,  LL.D.,  D.C.L., 

The  Genesis  of  the  American  Prayer  Book 163 

Stiles,  the  Rev.  Ezra,  D.D. 

The  Literary  Diary  17 

St.  John,  New  Brunswick  130,  151 

Stone,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  W 146 

the  Rev.  John  S.,  D.D 145 

Memoir  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Alexander  Viets  Griswold,  D.D.  179 

Stratfield  [Bridgeport],  Conn 28, 40,  132 

Stratford,  Conn 6,  7,  30,  48,  86,  11 1,  130,  135,  195 

Strebeck,  the  Rev.  George  yy 

Sydney,  Cape  Breton  148 

T. 

Talmage,  Captain  Amzi   80 

Terrick,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Richard,  D.D 128,  154,  156 

Thomas,  the  Rt.  Rev.  John,  D.D 123 

Thorpe,  Sheldon  B., 

Annals  of  North  Haven 149 

Todd,  the  Rev.  Ambrose, 

sketch  of  157, 158 

mentioned 35,  38,  41,  42,  45,  46,  49,  50,  53,  57,  58,  60, 

62,  64,  65,  66,  70,  yy,  96,  97,  100,  118,  139, 
142,  144,  149,  172,  178,  184 

the  Rev.  Ambrose  Seymour,  D.D 96,  97,  100,  158,  195 

the  Rev.  Charles  Jarvis 158 

Tood  [Todd],  the  Rev.  Ambrose 57 

TowNSEND,  the  Rev.  Epenetus 152 

Tracy,  John 15 

Trinity  College,  Hartford,  Conn 23 

See  Washington  College. 

Troy,  N.  Y 169 

Trumbull,  the  Rev.  Benjamin,  D.D 146 

John    157 


— 220 — 

Tryon,  General  William  131 

Turkey  Hills  [in  Simsbury],  Conn 8 

Twiss^  Sir  Travers,  D.C.L 12 

Tyler,  the  Rev.  John, 

sketch  of 155,  157 

mentioned 35,  38,  42,  43,  48,  50,  55,  56,  61,  71,  74, 

141,  149,  150,  184,  190 

The  Blessing  of  Peace  156,  157 

John ISS 

Mary  (Doolittle)    155 

U. 

United  British  Empire 160 

University,  Brown   179 

Cambridge,  England   165 

Harvard   179 

Oxford,  England  124,  165 

Paris,   France    165 

Princeton   179 

Usher,  the  Rev.  John   143 

the  Rev.  John,  Jr 143 


Van  Dyck,  the  Rev.  Henry 132,  142,  143 

Van  Dyke  [Van  Dyck],  the  Rev.  Henr^y 17 

Vermont 9,  128,  148,  168 

Diocese  of 168 

Vergennes,  Vt 17s 

ViETS,  the  Rev.  Roger 8,  21,  157,  158,  178 

W. 

Wainwright,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Jonathan  M.,  D.D " 95,  IQS 

Walden,  N.  Y 129 

Wallingford,  Conn 8,  10,  20,  138,  156,  184 

Walter,  the  Rev.  William,  D.D 124,  125 

Ward,  the  Rev.  John 76 

Warner  [Warren],  the  Rev.  Joseph  56,  57 

the  Rev.  Ransom  103, 1 14 

Warren,  Eliakim 169 

the  Rev.  Joseph 59,  149,  184 

Waterbury,  Conn 37,  96,  131,  I39 

Waterbury,  David   65 

Waterford,  N.  Y 3 170 

Watertown,  Conn 37,  40,  74,  131,  i39 

Watkinson,  David  191 

Watson,  the  Rev.  William,  D.D 1 16 

Washington,  Conn I33 


— 221  — 

Washington  College,  Hartford, 

proposed    99 

mentioned  115,  170,  175,  I95 

chartered    191 

Name  changed  to  Trinity  College  191 

See  Trinity  College. 

Washington  College,  Maryland   23,  26 

Wells,  the  Rev.  E.  M.  P.,  D.D 118 

the  Rev.  Noah  125 

Welton,  the  Rev.  Alanson  ' 94 

the  Rev.  Joseph  D 80,  81,  82,  85,  86,  88,  89,  90,  91,  92,  94.  96 

Mrs.  Joseph  D 105 

Westchester,  N.  Y 123, 175 

West  Haven,  Conn 6 

Weston,  Conn 132 

Wethersfield,    Conn 167 

Wetmore,  the  Rev.  James   6, 152 

Wheaton,  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  S.,  D.D 96,  98,  99,  100,  102,  103,  108, 

III,  112,  114,  IIS,  191 

the  Rev.  Salmon,  D.D ^^ 

Wheeler,  the  Rev.  Russell 64,  65,  71,  72,  74,  75,  78,  79,  80, 

81,  82,  84,  86,  88 

Wheelock,  the  Rev.  Eleazar,  D.D 141 

White,  the  Rev.  Calvin 53,  62,  65,  71,  'JT,  80,  86,  88,  89,  91,  95 

the  Rt.  Rev.  William,  D.D 16,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25,  26,  27, 

68,  69,  72,  75,  127,  129,  144,  145 

Memoirs  of  the  Church  160 

Whitestown,  N.  Y 140 

Whiting,  Calvin    183 

Whitlock,  the  Rev.  Henry 57,  60,  61,  64,  65,  71,  75,  77,  78,  81, 

82,  84,  86,  87,  88,  89 

Wilkins,  the  Rev.  Isaac,  D.D 123 

Williams,  Israel   42 

the  Rt.  Rev.  John,  D.D.,  LL.D 3,  10,  18,  147 

Men  for  the  Times  10 

The  Wise  Ruler  18 

deWood,  Antony  165 

Woodbury,  Conn 10,  37,  45,  46,  89,  loi,  131,  i34.  I55 

WoosTER,  Hon.  John 41 

WoRTHiNGTON  [New  Britain],  Conn 167 

Y. 

Yale  College 124,  125,  127,  131,  133,  i35.  I37,  146,  14S, 

155,  157,  i6s,  167,  177 

York,  Archbishop  of   10, 12 

Young,  Ebenezer  191 


Zoar,  Conn ^75 


ERRATA. 


The  Reader  is  asked  to  make  these  Corrections. 


142. 

Stratford  for  Stamford. 

152. 

Lamson  for  Lawson. 

157- 

Hull  for  Hall. 

179. 

1836  for  1830. 

182. 

1808  for  1868. 

184. 

Miles  for  Mills. 

186. 

180S  for  1808. 

191. 

184s  for  1848. 

195- 

Convocation  for  Convention 

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